TF Backstories: Reality
by moonstone6793
Summary: The camera doesn't always get the whole story. There are things that happen that aren't shown in the movie itself. Things get even wierder when you're the one who actually watched the movie. BarricadexOC
1. Chapter 1: When Lightning Strikes

**A/N: Yay! My first TF fanfic! PwP  
><strong>**So many ideas floating around in my head since the last movie. :D The plot kept evolving and turned into this.**

**This has a totally different writing style as compared to my first story. Instead of drama, this one's more on adventure and humor. I hope you enjoy. :D**

If you're also a reader of my other story, TBTFY, there's a note for you at the bottom of this chapter.

**Okay, before i forget...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Transformers or any of the original plot of the TF movies. I only own my OCs and the extra plot bunnies hopping around down there.**

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><p>I gave a sigh as the bell rang. <em>Finally!<em> The class was over. Who ever thought that strength of materials could be such a stressful subject?

Fudge balls and cheese crackers.

Yeah. I'm the type who tries to avoid cursing as much as possible. But that doesn't mean that I _don't _curse _at all_. Well, believing me or not on that is your prerogative.

Oh yes, I'm getting off topic. S.O.M. is all about the application of math. I was just glad that I could understand it, at least a bit. So what if I had to self study to actually get it? Our insulting teacher was no help at all.

It wasn't like he was some kind of clueless idiot. Ooooh, he knew _exactly_ what he was talking about, he's veeeery smart. But he just can't _teach._

I mean, what kind of teacher insults his students for asking questions?

His laugh_ ( which sounded more like snorting while pinching your nose)_, the look in his eyes and the smirk plastered on that smug old face of his just screams something like, "_What the hell kind of question was that? Are you stupid or something?_"

I wrinkled my nose at the thought of the dude's face.

Sheesh.

_Not today Aislinn. _I pushed myself to just forget about him.

I really had to try to not let him get to me.

I shouldn't.

And I sure as **heck** _wouldn't_.

**_Not_** tonight.

Because tonight was the midnight screening for Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon. In **_3-D_**!

Now _that _made my frown instantly turned into a grin. My bros, cousin, and I were gonna watch it at the cinema.

I got all dressed up for the occasion too.

Decepticon faction emblem necklace: check!

Chibi style Optimus Prime print t-shirt: check!

Red and blue hoodie: check!

Simple and yet contrasting, I know. Dressing up all Optimus-themed with a Con logo hanging around my neck.

I laughed to myself.

Though I guess it wasn't as subtle as I hoped when several people looked in my direction like I was crazy.

Cheeks turning beet red, I stifled the rest of my snickers behind one hand as I left the main gate of the university, slipping off my ID and stuffing it in my pocket.

I turned in the direction of the park, tapping my other pocket to feel a tiny can of pepper spray as I started walking. I grinned down at the canister, sitting so innocently in its pink camo case, hanging by the chain on my belt.

The things overprotective dads give to their daughters.

Oh well, it was cute for what it really was...

Anyway, I was due to meet up with my brothers and cousin in a few hours yet.

_Good._

Time to go play emo by myself before going to the mall.

What? Don't stare at me like that! Emo is technically short for emotional, emote, to pour out your feelings.

That doesn't mean that you have to be dark and whatnot.

I just really like thinking a lot while stargazing at night. Emotions flow easier for me when looking at something ethereal like the night sky. I enjoy the feeling.

It was about twenty minutes of walking before I got to an old junkyard-slash-storage compound. I had to pass through a back alley or two to actually get to the old park- if you could really call it that.

It's actually just a really wide, fenced-off lot, full of grass, weeds, a whole bunch of large crates on one side, and a giant rusty red metal cargo box thingy on the other side. Don't blame me for not knowing what it's really called.

Whatever you _do_ call it, it doesn't matter. All I really care about is that it's the best perch for stargazing. Even if, I have to admitt, my butt does get a bit chilled on the steel.

When I was little, my brothers and I would come here to play. Sometimes my cousins would come along too whenever they could. Not so much now though, with everyone being so busy- me with college life.

Tugging the box door open caused a loud screech to echo through the lot. It made me cringe as I walked in to rummage through the other wooden crates inside.

Grabbing a hidden blanket, a couple chocolate chip granola bars and a bottled water, I shut the door again before climbing the ladder up the side. I made myself comfortable before looking up at the patches of stars that I could see through the clouds.

This night wasn't really as good as other visits, but I'd take this little break over nothing. Time for a little music.

Pulling out my phone, _(Well sor-ry if you were expecting a high tech i-pod. I have all kinds of bad luck when it comes to higher class gadgets. So I'll stick with my phone, thank you. :D)_ I plugged in my black and yellow marshmallow headset. It was my own custom design, hand painting an angry bumblebee on each ear with "Bee-Otch" written in bold, contrastingly girly cursive on the connecting strap.

Bonus points for keeping my ears warm while I listened to my music, especially with the wind picking up, it was getting pretty chilly. I adjusted the earmuff pieces so they were snugly in place and each note that played from my collection of Transformers Scores sounded like the orchestra was performing all around me.

I sat alone in the relative darkness for about an hour munching on the chocolatey goodness that was those granola bars. (_Gawd, these things are sooo addictive)._

This alone time is definitely perfect.

Well… _Almost _perfect.

If only the sky would clear up a bit.

The distant sound of rumbling thunder broke through the crescendo of violins and cellos just as the thought flit through my head.

The wind was picking up even more, too. It was now starting to sound like some kind of thunder storm was coming.

"Awwwww! Come on!" I zipped my jacket up as high as it would go, thoroughly irritated as I tried to block out the chilly wind. This was supposed to be _my _break time!

Whoever was listening was being a jerk because he took my complaint as a challenge.

It started drizzling.

"Fudge!" I cursed, now pulling up my hood as well.

They also took _that _as some kind of insult because lightning began to flash.

Once, twice, then third time was weird and downright scared the crap out of me because it struck barely fifty feet away. And I think I know I'm right when I say that lightning bolts aren't bright blue.

"FU-FU-UUU-UDGE!" I clenched my jaw as a wave of energy from the bolt surged through the ground, flowed through the metal of the cargo box, rippled through my sneakers, and up my feet.

_Tingly._

I mentally smacked myself. Seriously, I needed to get off this thing and into some kind of shelter if I didn't want to get turned into char-grilled human.

My knees were shaking too badly for me to get to the ladder and when the unnatural blue bolts kept coming, I couldn't take it anymore.

_Gotta get off. NOW!_

With the grace of a moose, I stumbled to the edge and jumped, flapping my arms like an injured pelican.

Oh yes, whoever was in charge of the weather was paying _waaay_ too much attention to me- because I jumped right into the line of fire.

Searing pain shot through my body as my vision flashed a blinding bluish white. I could barely feel anything when I landed with a thud on the ground. I could only hear strange crashing echoes while sparks flashed at the edge of my line of sight, and I slipped into unconsciousness.

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><p><em>... ...<br>_

_Bzzt. Zzzt._

Those were the strange sounds that woke me up. Despite that, I kept my eyes tightly closed, as though doing that would somehow keep the throbbing in my head from getting worse.

"Uuuughnnn…." I groaned. I felt horrible! Pain still tingled on and off through my legs and my body. Judging from ache I felt whenever I twitched my foot, I figured that my ankle was probably sprained at the least. Hopefully I didn't fracture or dislocate it when I jumped from the cargo box.

I let out a barking laugh as I threw an arm over my face, trying to block out the white that was flashing through my closed eyelids.

_Wouldn't that suck? 'Cause that would mean I won't make it to-_

_Oh God! The movie! I'm going to miss it! _

_Forget that! How long was I out? _

I gave myself another smack on the head.

_My bros must be worried sick about me! _I just _had_ to get up. Right **now**.

It took a huge effort for me to turn on my side, then flip on my stomach.

My arms felt like jelly as I tucked them underneath my torso and tried to push myself up off the gravelly ground. Stinging sensations added to the pain when sharp rocks cut my palms.

_Wait a minute…._

My mind might have been foggy, but from what I could remember, I was at the empty lot beside the old storage facility before the freaky lightning struck.

There was nothing but thick grass and weeds there.

I struggled to force my eyes open. Black spots were still dancing in my vision despite it starting to clear. It took a few minutes before I could finally make out the black of an asphalt road and the dull grey of the grit that was digging into my skin.

_What the heck?_

Still on my hands and knees, I turned my head up to try and get a sense of where I was. To my right, I could see a tall, rounded concrete structure and several warehouses in the distance.

_Where the heck am I?_

I felt so confused!

I dropped my head and stared hard at my hands, feeling even more dizzy. The increased number of black spots clouding my sight did nothing to help at all.

It took a few more minutes of just shutting my eyes and breathing deeply to keep myself from throwing up from the nausea I was feeling.

I sat myself down slowly, and put my head in between my knees to try and ease the churning in my gut.

_Bzzt. Zzzt. _

Great. The weird sounds were starting up again. Did getting struck by lightning affect your hearing?

_Bzzzzzzt! POP!_

With the loud electric pop that sounded, bright white flashed from the corner of my eye.

Hmmm… I guess it wasn't my hearing... something somewhere to my left that was causing the weird sounds and flashes.

I opened my eyes once more, then sluggishly lifted my head to look up to my left to try and locate the offending thing that was just adding annoyance to my pain.

What I saw was definitely _not _what I was expecting.

All pain and discomfort quickly disappeared as I made out sharp, twisted pieces of silver, grey, and black and white metal locked together intricately to create the form of the giant that was lying in a pile of concrete debris right next to me.

The form of a robot.

The unmistakable form of a _Transformer._

"Shit."

Told you I could curse.

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><p><strong>Yay! You read it to the end! :D <strong>For those of you reading this, I would like to formally welcome you to: "TF Backstories: Reality".<strong>****This is going to be this going to be the first book of a three or four-part series. :D**

**So, how was it? I hope it's okay, please don't forget to REVIEW! Reviews encourage my muse and feed the plot bunny. :D**

**Just so you know, this story focuses more on friendship, maybe a little fluff and romance at the end, it depends on how this goes and if you guys feel that it would be right for this story later on. We'll see.**

**"Aislinn" is pronounced as "Ash-lyn" by the way. It's a Celtic name meaning dream, vision, or inspiration. Well, i do believe my Ash is quite the dreamer. :D**

**Anyway, my updates for this story will be every 3-5 days. No need to worry too much about me missing those deadlines because it's going to be my christmas break in 2 days. :D**

**So, Happy Holidays to all you guys who read and reviewed ^_^... till the next chapter,**

**See yah! :D**

**Moonstone**

**.**

*****Sidenote: For those of you reading TBTFY, don't worry, I am going to finish it. w It's just that i have been having a hard time relocating my muse for that story. I really have not been able to keep track of the Manga. i do know how it's going to end, it's just that i'm sorta having a hard time bringing the words to life. there are about 3 to 5 chappies max left. Hopefully i can finally close the story before the end of the holidays. I don't want to leave it hanging either.**

**so if you are reading _this_ story _and_ TBTFY, send me your suggestions so i can give my story the necessary push to the finish line. Thankies. :D**


	2. Chapter 2: Play Dough

**CHAPTER 2: Play Dough**

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><p>I pinched myself.<p>

_Ouch._

I pinched myself again for several seconds longer.

_Ouuuuchhhh...  
><em>  
>I <em>definitely<em> wasn't dreaming.

_Ha._ As if the pain I was already feeling even before the pinches wasn't any indication.

_Yup. Soooo **not** dreaming._

I slowly crawled toward the arm that was dangling over the side of the pile, gaping at the word emblazoned on the cybertronian's arm.

Beneath the numerous scratches, I could read "POLICE".

This guy… uh, I mean bot?… no… mech. Yeah… This_ mech_ could be none other than…

"_Barricade…"_

Being the curious little kitten I am, I did the first thing that popped into my head.

I poked at one of his claws, jumping back when it twitched.

"CHEESEBALLS!" I screeched like a banshee.

I tensed as I waited for something else to happen, but other than twitching like an epileptic every once in a while, he didn't move. Feeling more sure of myself, I shakily got up on my feet and scaled the pile to take a closer look at the damage.

The first thing I noticed were his eyes.. uhmm.. _optics_.

_He's in stasis. _I realized when I took note of how they were dark. Good thing, too. Otherwise, I'd probably be mush on the bottom of someone's pedes by now.

"What happened to you, huh big guy?"

I sort of felt sorry for him when I looked at all the dents and scratches on his armor.

_(You guys are staring again! I mean, what's so wrong about feeling bad for the mech? You'd feel sorry for him to if you could really see just how damaged he was! Sparks were jumping out of some of his "cuts" for pete's sake!)_

Only an autobot could have done this to Barricade.

_Autobot!_

My head quickly snapped around as I tried to locate any autobots that might have still been somewhere nearby. I hopped down one side of the pile the police cruiser was on to try and survey more of the area.

_Gah! _

No luck. It looked like the place was completely empty except for me and the Con.

_Too bad... _I sighed sadly, turning back around.

Looking at the entirety of Barricade's prone form, a sudden twinge of familiarity hit me.

"Hmmmmm…"

Taking a look around, I noticed that the ground sloped downwards at one side. More bells started ringing in my head because even _that _seemed very familiar.

I walked across the lot, away from the pile, and towards the incline.

At the bottom of the hill, was a wire fence. I scanned its length quickly, my gaze suddenly falling onto a smaller metallic form. It was Frenzy's beheaded body. Beside it, lay a discarded buzz saw.

_Wait a second! I know what this place is! _Everything suddednly clicked together.

This was where Bumblebee and Barricade had an all out robot death match! The bottom of the hill was where Frenzy ripped Sam's pants off and the decepticon hacker got his head chopped of by Mikaela.

_Bumblebee must have taken off with the two humans not too long ago._

My suspicion was only confirmed when, in the distance, I saw four bright balls of fire sear through the blackness of the night sky.

_Optimus, Ironhide, Ratchet, and Jazz!_

My heart rate was _skyrocketing_. I was sure I was having an adrenaline rush.

"OhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGod!…"

Fangirl heart attack! I was hyperventilating too!

This meant that they were still just arriving on earth!

Maybe if I hurried I could try to catch them!

The words "giddy with excitement" are an **_extreme _**understatement. I ran down the road toward the gate of the junkyard like I was being chased by Megatron himself _(though, I guess I'd probably run toward him instead of away because honestly… Megzy is BADASS :D)_.

Just as I was about to get past where Barricade was still knocked out, something caught my attention.

Glowing blue.

Lines of bright, glowing blue liquid trickling down the rubble to form a growing puddle of the stuff at the bottom of the rubble.

My brows knit together.

_That wasn't there before…_

I just wanted to leave the 'Con alone and get going. I _really_ didn't want to miss the autobots, but…

I had a feeling that the blue stuff meant something bad.

Reluctantly, I walked back toward the rubble, following the streaks. They lead to a particularly deep gash on the side of Barricade's lower chest armor that I hadn't noticed during my first inspection.

_Oh God… _

I cringed as I realized what the liquid was.

_Energon._

The cybertronian equivalent of lifeblood.

Primus! Cade was _bleeding._

I looked anxiously at the puddle that was still growing steadily in size. That couldn't be good. I knew for a fact that if he lost too much energon, he'd most likely…. _die._

But he couldn't die!... I mean… I know he's a decepticon! But…

I kinda liked Cade.

I pouted.

He's one of my favorite Transformers. And… He was supposed to _live_, right?

I mean, he still appeared later on in the first movie when the autobots were on their way to Mission City! Sam recognized his alt form on the highway, and the police cruiser looked _fine_.

That meant that someone would come for him. Another decepticon would probably pop up to come and patch him up before he bled out. Maybe that spider-robot-medic-doctor with the German(?) accent ….

_Scalpel._

_Oh yeeeaaah,_ _Scalpel._

That thought made me run and duck behind the pile. I didn't want any slimy mechanical worms probing my brain!

I wanted to try and keep out of sight, just in case he or _any_ other decepticons actually _did_ show up, but I didn't want to go _too_ far either. So I stayed in my sorry excuse for a hiding place.

Someone just _had_ to come.

But as the minutes ticked by, and the puddle steadily continued to grow at an alarming rate, I wasn't so sure anymore. The lot remained empty and silent except for the sound of Barricade's systems and my breathing.

I couldn't just stand around and wait.

I went back to take a closer look at the gash. When I looked into its depths, it looked like a lot of spaghetti noodles bundled together. I could see a few sparking wires, and a number of thick tubes. One tube had a two inch long cut on it. _That_ was where the energon was coming from.

It was reflex when I absently gave the con's chest plates a gentle, apologetic pat.

"Fudge, Cade… you've been through a whole lot of slag tonight." I whispered.

I have to admit, I was scared and worried.

_What can I do?_

Okay, okay.

I tried to calm myself down because I was starting to hyperventilate again, _and _my hands were shaking.

I tried to think about what I could do for Cade….

What _could _I do?

Another look at the gash, and the word "band-aid" popped into my head.

I gave myself a good smack on the face for being such an idiot.

_Come on, Ash! This is **serious**! _I scolded myself.

When I spied the buzz saw lying close to the fence out of the corner of eye, I suddenly remembered,

"The tool shed!"

In the movie, Mikaela got to some kind of tool shed to get her hands on that thing!

Sure enough, I saw only one run down old building close enough that could have been the shed. I sprinted down the hillside, and just like fate decided that I should get fried by lightning, it also thought that it would be hilarious for me to trip on air and roll head over heels down the slope.

I barked out a sarcastic laugh as I forced myself up once I hit the bottom, stumbling toward the shed like a drunken ballerina.

I leaned heavily on the shelves full of all kinds of tools, equipment, and junk while I searched for something useful.

My still hyperactive idiotic side wasn't any help because it was still dancing around, chanting "band-aid" in my head.

_Shut up! _I mentally screamed at it, cussing when I cut my finger on something in the clutter of old tools I was digging through.

_Baaaannnd-aaaiiid! _The voice screamed insistently when something fell from the shelf.

I was about to cuss at it when I suddenly got an idea.

Picking up the silvery thing, a rubber tube with an outer weave of stainless steel, from the floor, I knew what I could do.

I rummaged through the shelves again, pumping a fist in triumph when I found a container of caulking putty.

_Yessssssssssss!_

Anyway, no time to celebrate, I grabbed my swiss army knife from my bag , flipping the scissor tool open while I ran like crazy back to Barricade.

By the time I was back on my knees near the wound, I had cut one long line along its length, so now the tubing sort of formed a long strip.

When I looked through the gash, I noticed how the energon was smeared around the edges of the cut on the line.

I couldn't try to patch him up with that! God knows I didn't want to take any chances with making contact with the blue stuff. From all that I've read, it was supposed to be extremely harmful to organics like me. That meant that I had to mop it up before I could get to work.

I sighed, reaching over my head to undo the zipper of the detachable hood of my jacket.

"The things I'd do for one of my favorite fandoms…" I muttered to myself.

This was my favorite jacket. I had looked through a _hell_ lot of shops to find just the right red and blue jacket for me. I stared sadly at the autobot insignia I had printed on the fabric. The longer I stared, the more it looked like it was staring back at me.

_Just do it! Now!_

Before I could change my mind, I noticed how the sound of Barricade's systems seemed to sputter and stall for a moment.

_Okay! __**Don't** die!_

I quickly scrunched up the hood and roughly pressed it against the wound. I guess I did it a bit too hard, because Barricade's chest jerked. I yelped when I felt a surge of electricity zap through my hand and up my arm, it felt like it made my heart palpitate from the energy. Like a chain reaction, some of Cade's other wounds spat out blue sparks as well.

I must be the worst medic ever.

"Sorry Cade." I sulked.

I bit my lip as I continued my work, dabbing carefully this time so that I wouldn't cause any more damage…. _Hopefully…._

_Just... don't die. Don't die... _I chanted the words in my head like a mantra.

Setting the ruined hood aside I got to work quickly. Opening the container of caulking putty, I set it on Barricade's chest for easy reach. I had to dab a little more at the line because it was starting to leak again.  
><em><br>**Faster.**_

I wrapped the strip of tubing around as swiftly as I could. Hopefully it wasn't too tight that it would stifle any energon flow, or too loose that it would be useless and just slip off.

Holding the makeshift bandage in place, I reached out to grab-

_Oh, fudge._

I had no choice. I used my hand to scoop putty out from the plastic container.

It hadn't dried up. It was still thick and sticky.

Good news for Barricade, not so much for me.

It was getting in my cuts. This was going to be _hell _to clean up later on.

I smeared some over the loose end to make sure it didn't unravel and spread the rest of the stuff over the whole thing so that it would be as leak-proof as possible.

I waited a few minutes for the putty to set a bit before actually letting go of the thing and inspecting my work.

I cringed. It looked like a preschooler's mess of play dough.

"Sorry, Barricade. I _might_ have gone a _little_ overboard with the putty." I let out an embarassed laugh.

Weelll… at least he wasn't bleeding anymore.

Sighing, glad that the worst was over, the adrenaline in my system started to ebb. The pain from all my little cuts, the after-effect of the lightning strike, and my sprained ankle came crashing back. I groaned, feeling dizzy again. I wanted to just lay down where I was and sleep because I suddenly felt so exhausted.

Despite that, I knew I couldn't stay here. I was glad to have helped Barricade, but there was no telling how he would react if a fleshy like me was in such close proximity to him.

I whimpered a bit as I tried to limp back to the tool shed to hide, the previous ache in my ankle had turned into a shooting pain. I prayed that it wasn't fractured.

Fate definitely hated me because my vision was starting to swim, and the black spots were returning with a vengeance. I didn't get too far from the pile.

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><p><strong>AN: Yay! I got it done in time to edit and re-edit before posting. :D Ash plays a poor substitute for a _real _doctor. You didn't expect her to be all tech-y, now did you?**

**Barricade will just have to be satisfied for now. Poor mech. XD  
><strong>**  
>So, now that you've read, please review. ^_^ Reviews encourage my muse and feed the plot bunny.<strong>

**Big hugs and thanks to my first reviewers:  
>JasmineChyanne, shadowhaseo, Astraea Maehanla, Lone Wolf, and sieluvstf.<strong>

**Your reviews definitely made my day! :)) Thankies to those who also faved and added this story to their alerts. ^^**

**I hope that this chapter has kept you still interested and intrigued with what's to come.**

**QUESTION FOR THE CHAPTER: What caught your interest to read/ continue reading this story? (ex. the summary, the title, etc.)**

**Starting today, I'll be posting a question at the end of every chapter. It may be about TF, story-writing related, about your opinions, or just a random question. You can include your answer with your review. Just a little something to help me and to get to know more about you guys. :D**

**Till the next chapter,**

**See yah!**

**-Moonstone**


	3. Chapter 3: Bipolar

**CHAPTER 3: Bipolar**

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><p>Several system warnings were what greeted Barricade with when he came out of stasis. He definitely felt like slag, though he knew he couldn't complain. He had expected <em>much <em>worse after all.

"Ah. It zeems zat you are finelly online." A voice drifted through his audio processors. It was thick with a foreign accent.

When the decepticon hunter onlined his blood red optics, he was met with the visage of the tiny docbot, Scalpel. As he took a quick survey of his surroundings, he noted that they were in some kind of old storage facility. Probably one of the dilapidated old structures that littered the yard.

No light filtered from the high windows, confirming what his inner chronological systems were telling him. It was still the early hours of the morning. The sun wouldn't rise for a while. The only source of illumination came from several fluorescent lights.

"You have recovered quite qweekly. All ze wounds have healed on zey're own quite vell, actually." The tiny doctor's tone sounded curious.

"Your self-repair systems vill be more zen enough to compensate for ze rest of your injuries."

Scalpel continued to talk as he skittered over his chest plates, tapping at various welds that were now in place, each warning message clicking off as the bot finished making a few more repairs.

With Barricade so deep in thought, the doctor only received an occasional grunt in response.

"From vat I can tell, you should ve back to battle capability before midday."

If black and white mech was human, he would have supposed that he had blown his situation over the top. However, he knew his systems records **_didn't_** lie.

Going over the data that was stored in his memory banks, there was no doubt.

He **_knew_** he had been _heavily _damaged when the yellow scout had left him. How could he have recovered at such an exponential rate?

Scalpel did not miss the confusion showing on Barricade's faceplates.

"Quite curious indeed… iz it not?" He tittered, as though he could read what was on the larger bot's processor.

Barricade growled and sat up, ignoring the soreness he felt. He was a decepticon soldier, after all. He had been forced to fight in worse conditions before, even when he was close to a forced stasis lock, numerous times before. This was nothing.

"I'm sure zat you are quite aware zat ze zcout would _never_ 'ave left you in zat junk yard unless he was sure zat you would deactivate. After all, _you_ are ze one zat tried to offline 'iz charge." He chuckled again.

The black and white mech was quickly tiring of the doctor's beating around the bush. He wanted answers.

He glared at Scalpel, "Get on with it!"

The outburst did nothing to faze the spider-like bot. His only response was a sly look in his optics, and words that would make Barricade's systems stall for a moment.

"We _would_ have indeed lost you to ze matrix were it not for **_zat_**."

One spindly digit pointed in a direction behind the larger mech.

Barricade turned his head, surprised to see Starscream, of all mechs, holding something small in his servo.

A human.

A dark-haired human femme. Somewhat similar to the one he had seen with Ladiesman217, but this one was different.

Oh, _so_ much more different.

His scanners beeped in confirmation.

While the two humans he had previously been chasing had barely detectable trace amounts of cybertronian radiation on them, this one had something else.

Something that was definitely a clue to getting what they had come for in the first place.

She radiated traces of all-spark energy.

* * *

><p>"The large amounts of trace suggest that this human has been exposed to the all spark itself." Starscream concluded. "That could be the explanation for your swift recovery. Getting in such... <em>close <em>proximity with you when you were so damaged must have triggered a transfer of the residual energy. Enough to exponentially speed up your repair but not to heal you completely."

The scientist within him was quite intrigued with the development of events. That part of him wanted to postpone the race for the cube to run tests on the human.

"How did she come in contact with it in the first place? You would have thought that these _idiotic_ humans would have had enough sense not to reveal such a powerful artifact to such a _pitiful_ femme." Barricade contemplated, disgust evident in his tone.

The girl was barely sixteen years of age. Not even an adult.

_Glitching humans._

"Indeed." Starscream consented, sharing the hunter's sentiments. "But what matters right now is that she must know where the cube is located. If we move quickly, we will be able to get to it before the autobots do." His lust for power was stronger. He was decepticon second-in-command once more.

Barricade tensed slightly. If they had the cube in their possession, they could defeat the autobots for good, and Cybertron would be theirs to rule.

Something in his spark stirred.

_After countless millennia of war..._

Starscream turned to Scalpel, a look in his optics seemingly asking a silent question.

"Ze human haz recharged for long enough. I do believe she vill vake up zis time."

_This time_... It seemed that it wasn't their first attempt to wake her.

"Zuch a pity zat my cerebral probes are not yet fully functional. She would 'ave made an exzellent test subject." The medic mused.

"No matter." The decepticon air commander said, laying the teen on the top of an old metal cargo box.

"Manual methods are _just _as effective. And _much_ more... **_enjoyable_**." A malicious grin set itself on his faceplates.

He raised a servo and slammed it down roughly, barely two feet from the unconscious girl's head.

The reaction was instant.

The femme's eyes flew open and she shot up. Or at least she had tried to, the air commander's servo had her body firmly pinned down.

Breathing in short, quick gasps, the human looked around wildly, her arms swinging frantically.

For a few moments, it was almost as though she was looking right through the decepticon second-in-command towering over her.

"What the... **_heck_**?" She breathed when her gaze finally settled on Starscream then shot to Scalpel who was flashing a serrated blade as he stood on top of the servo that was keeping her held captive. He was laughing maniacally to scare the her.

When her eyes widened and she took a deep, shuddering breath, they were expecting her to scream.

But what they got wasn't even **_close_** to what they were anticipating.

"Starscream? Scalpel?" She whispered, seemingly bewildered and somewhat out of it. The way the girl had said their names, however, indicated that it was _not_ a question. The Decepticons visibly cringed at look of recognition in the human's eyes, as well as the obvious lack of any substantial fear.

It was **_disturbing_**.

"Hey... you're not... supposed to be here..." the human continued a bit sluggishly, despite the lack of any response, sending a confused look and pointing an accusing finger in Scalpel's direction.

"Wait... Barricade!" Confusion turned to panic and she began hyperventilating.

"B-Barricade... was... beat up...-!" Her voice was shaking as well.

Then suddenly, her eyes widened when the she realized who she was talking to.

Something akin to anger flashed on her features and Scalpel had to hop off of his perch when the human began puching weakly at the metal digits that were impeding her movement.

"_Where is he_?" She hissed in a demanding tone.

"What are-" Starscream was, to his disbelief, abruptly cut off.

"Where the _pit_ is Barricade? I hope you had him patched up, you _fragging_ dorito! Or imma gonna beat the cheese-! 'CADE!"

Anger abruptly flickered to joy at the sight of the black and white mech who was just starting to get up behind Starscream.

The emotions were switching from one to another so _fast_ it was throwing the decepticons for a loop.

"You're okay!" A stupid grin plastered itself onto the human femme's face despite her situation.

She flopped back onto the metal surface, letting out a sigh of... relief? As she did so, shiny metal slipped out of her jacket.

Barricade was not quite sure about how he should react to her obvious display of concern for his well being, as well as the way the human had unceremoniously given him a nickname.

This human _had _to be _seriously_ **glitching**. She was in the presence of _three_ cybertronians!

**_Decepticons_** for Primus' sake!

The three Cons could only gape at the strange girl, different thoughts racing through their processors.

_'What in Primus' name is going on? Who **is** this human?'_

_'...Dorito?'_ Barricade did a quick search on the web.

_'Heh. Foolish human. Trying to insult Starscream?...'_ He almost couldn't help the smirk that was threatening to appear. His mouth twitched.

_'Peculiar human. Doez she have zome kind of processor malfunction? How doez she know our dezignations? Unless...'_

Starscream swore that he was about to short a fuse. It was all he could do not to offline from a processor overload when he spotted the strangest thing hanging around the human's neck.

The Decepticon insignia.

"What... in... the **_pit_**?..."

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><p><strong>AN: Third chapter down! Weeeeeeeee! :D Ash is definitely getting herself into a slagheap of trouble. I quite enjoyed writing this chapter myself, so I do hope that you guys liked it too. :))**

**Sorry that I got a bit delayed with posting this. My family and I went out of town for two days, and I couldn't post before we left. I just got back actually, and it's... currently just past 4 am. XD**

**Aaaanyway, now that you've read, please review. Reviews encourage my muse and feed the plot bunny. I'd also like to know your comments and critiques, positive or negative, it doesn't matter. I believe what you have to say will help me improve as a writer. So even if it's a flame, the furnace is open. :D**

**QUESTION FOR THE CHAPTER: How do _you _guys think the cons will deal with this kind of situation?**

**You'll be finding out soon, in chapter 4 of TFBR. ^^**

**Till then,**

**See yah. :D**

**-Moonstone**


	4. Chapter 4: Who am I?

**A/N: Really sorry for the delay. I know that this chapter is kinda short, but I have an extra long chapter in the works to make up for it. :D Again thanks so much to all those who reviewed the last chapter, and also to those who faved added this to their alerts. Anyway, without further ado, the next chapter of TFBR. ^_^. I hope that you enjoy reading as much as did writing this.**

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><p>It took several moments, but Starscream finally managed to snap out of his stupor. Acting out of impulse, he immediately brandished the saw in his right arm, threateningly bringing it in front of Aislinn's pale face.<p>

"You!" He activated the blade, making it spin menacingly. "**_Who_**_ are you_?" He growled out, "Some kind of _spy_?" His scratchy voice was dripping with venom.

The femme still did not scream, though she was visibly holding her breath. The half-asleep glaze in her brown eyes had blinked out of existence. They finally flashed with the fear that the air commander was looking for, only egging him on.

Ash knew that she had been an absolute idiot to be so loose-lipped just moments earlier. She hated just how out of it she could be whenever she had just woken up, especially when she was this tired. Now, she had only revealed that she knew too much.

_Cheese…What should I do?_

Her hands were beginning to tremble once more and a cold sweat was beginning to form on her forehead.

_Compose yourself! Fear will only encourage him!_

"Where did you get _that_?" Starscream hissed, indicating the dark metal of the Decepticon insignia hanging on the chain around her neck. He was getting increasingly angered by the lack of any verbal response from the human girl.

_What do I do?... _Ash was quite close to breaking. Pressure never did her any good. Things were definitely different when you were faced with the real thing. It was much easier to talk and act when it was all just fiction- pretend.

_Pretend. _Something in the back of her mind whispered. But then wouldn't she just reveal more? That would _royally_ screw things up.

_The half truth will do. Come on. You're good at making stories._

One deep breath later, a strange sense of calm washed over her.

When she opened her eyes, Ash threw Starscream an annoyed look.

"And I th-thought it was obvious." She had stuttered a bit, but at least she hadn't clammed up. The second-in-command was now more curious than angry.

_Insulting Starscream, then displaying arrogance in his presence even if he could crush her in a nanoklik._ _This human is definitely something_, Barricade contemplated. He didn't hold back his smirk this time.

Scalpel skittered forward, getting close to the femme's face. One look at the doctor's optics told her that he knew something.

_Why does he look like he's expecting something from me? Fudge… This is could mean something!_

Ash took it as a clue.

_Wing it._

"Stop fooling around human. Answer me now, or I will find other means to make you talk."

Gears turning in her head, she quickly blurted out her next words.

"Scalpel knows who I am." She said, praying that the confidence in her tone was convincing enough. If the bot believed her, he might be able to give her something to go on.

_Oh God, please. Let this work._

Ash clung desperately to the scraps of hope she had left, majority of it having disintegrated five seconds earlier.

"Hmmmmm." Scalpel examined her once more, his optics narrowing, optic lenses shifting as he thought. After several moments of intense silence, he spoke again.

"Who zent you, human?" Her answer would surely define her fate.

_Soundwave._

"Soundwave…" Ash replied easily, thinking fast about what she knew about him.

"Communications officer of the Decepticons, creator of the Cassetticons, three of them being Frenzy, Ravage, and Laserbeak." She didn't name the rest. After all, she couldn't be sure who exactly was still functional in this plot. It was best to play it safe.

"That's all I know about him."

Seemingly convinced, Scalpel glanced at the second-in-command.

"Deactivate zat weapon of yourz Ztarzcream. She iz 'armless." The bot waved one digit lazily.

"So you _**do** know_ this human?" The seeker looked utterly confused.

"Not eczactly. 'owever, vat I do know iz zat she vil vork vith us."

_A **statement**, not a threat. Bingo!_

"Fudge, yeah!" Ash agreed with a little too much enthusiasm. She hoped they didn't notice just how jittery her smile was.

The Cons gave her a strange look.

_Cheeseballs, Ash! You're not supposed to talk like that to these guys!_

"Uhmmm… my... apologies." _Oooooh. Now I sound so formal. _She grinned internally. "I _do_ play the role of a col- high school student." _Phew. Almost let **that **slip out._

Where Ash was from, high school was two years shorter, which was why she was in college at a young age.

Starscream hesitantly deactivated his saw and removed the servo holding her down.

"Your designation, _human_." It wasn't a request.

_Da hell, do I tell him? Would it matter if told them a fake name?_

Freezing, she realized that the Cons could have searched her while she was knocked out. Her university ID was in her pocket.

_Gawd, I hope it's still there._

She slowly sat up, cringing slightly from the pain in her ribs, but inwardly sighing in relief when she felt familiar poke of the corners of the rectangular plastic card through the fabric of her jeans.

Coughing a bit to buy herself a little more time, she thought of a name that she could give them.

The goofy grin that plastered itself onto Ash's face when she answered had nothing to do with trying to appease the air commander.

_Might as well add a little fun to it._

"Shaya. Shaya Fox."

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><p><strong>YAY! You got to the end! :D Thanks so much for reading. Please don't forget to review. Meh loves me some reviews. :D<strong>

**Yes. I know how to spell Shia.**

**I'd be laughing my head off if there's anyone who didn't get that last part. That's my favorite part of this chapter. :))**

**QUESTION FOR THE CH: Primus gives you the chance to go through a portal to the TF verse (and I'm guessing that majority of you would probably dive through it :D) and the first bot you meet is Barricade. He doesn't know that you know about transformers and he tries to play it safe. Instead of transforming, the driver's side door pops open and his hologram steps out. What (or who- that is if you can think of a specific actor or person :D) does he look like?**

**Hope to hear from you guys. I'm really interested to know what your answers are, as well as what you think about this chapter. Clicky clicky reviewy. Thankerzzz.**

**Until the next chapter,**

**Moonstone**


	5. Chapter 5: The Ruse

**A/N: Give your thanks to Krystal, a nice girl I met on Omegle for making me soooo happy that i just had to post this. :D.**

**Thanks again all my readers and reviewers. On with the story. :DD**

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><p>Chapter 5: The Ruse<p>

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><p>"Shaya. Shaya Fox."<p>

"What is with that _idiotic_ grin?" Starscream was not amused. How could he have known what it meant anyway?

"S-sorry, sir. I get... _ahem_... smiley when I'm nervous." The teen was holding back her laughter quite well, managing to let out only a stutter and a slight pause.

"_Nervous_..." The seeker drawled. "Does that mean that you are _lying_ to us, _girl_?" A dangerous smile crept its way onto his faceplates.

"Of course not, sir!" The grin was replaced with what Ash hoped was a sheepish smile and not a blatant giveaway.

"It's quite _easy_ to stay composed in front of beings that are more than _five times taller_ than me. And, after all, you _are_ second in command." She had tried and failed to bite back her sarcasm.

Despite that, if Starscream were a bird, his next action could have been interpreted as him ruffling his feathers in pride.

_Such an arrogant dorito. Who knew his big head would be **my** advantage._

Even Barricade almost rolled his optics in disgust at how vain and egotistical the seeker could be, especially when he didn't pry any further after that.

"What do you have to report to us then, human? And how did you come in contact with the allspark?"

"The allspark, sir?" Ash was now the one confused.

_Where'd they get that idea?_

"There's no use trying to hide what you know, femme. You emit the residual energy that could only result from direct contact with the cube."

The girl was now the one at a loss for words. She opened and shut her mouth several times, imitating a fish out of water.

"Uh, I-"

"Stand up when you are speaking, and show some respect, girl!" Starscream fumed when he saw her still down on her aft.

"Starscream, _sir_. I-"

"Stand. Up." He cut her off with a hiss.

"I. _Can't_." Ash hissed back just as dangerously. Dealing with arrogant glitch heads was never really her thing.

"I really would _love_ to stand _(you ignorant dorito) _but my _ankle," _She spat the word out as she pointed at her foot, then glared up at the Con's ruby optics, "is, at the very least, dislo- AAGH!"

A pained yelp cut her off as Scalpel tapped roughly at said injured body part.

"Hmmmm..." Scalpel's optics emitted several lines of light that Ash understood to be a form of a scan.

"It zeems as though she iz not lying Ztarzcream. Ze bones in her joint are indeed fractured."

The girl had to bite her lip as the tiny bot continued carelessly poking and prodding at her foot. She was sure that he was doing it merely to cause her pain than to further any assessment of her injury. When she was one poke away from screaming at the mech, he stopped. Good thing too, because Ash knew that he would have had no problem with cutting her up for telling him off.

"I do not 'ave ze proper materials to treat it. She vill be needing human medical assistance." The doctor glanced in Starscream's direction.

The seeker growled before nodding. "Fine then. It would be a_ pain_ to be dealing with a damaged human spy. And I have no patience to finding another to replace her for Soundwave."

He turned to Barricade who was still smirking at the foolish femme's display. It disintegrated a moment later with the second-in-command's next words.

"Barricade, you will assist the human and take her for medical treatment." He said smugly.

Ash sighed in relief, glad that she would be able to dodge the bullet for the time being.

Barricade was less enthusiastic about the order.

"But before _that_..." Starscream turned back around and brought his faceplates threateningly close to her face.

_Fudge! Looks like you jinxed yourself, idiot._

"You must answer my questions first. _Where_ did you get that decepticon insignia? And _why_ do you radiate traces of allspark energy?"

_Well..._

_Saying 'I got it as a birthday present' really isn't the best idea._

"This was given to me, as an assurance that you would believe me and my role as a Decepticon informant." Aislinn held out the pendant so that the seeker could see it more clearly. "But from what just happened, I can say that it's caused more suspicion than trust." She shrugged, before dropping it and placing one hand on her hip.

"And if you still think that I'm an enemy spy, I highly doubt that _any_ autobot would actually trust a human prancing around wearing the _Decepticon insignia anyway_." Rolling her eyes, she looked back up at the jet and gave him a sarcastic grin.

He only narrowed his eyes in response, not wanting to stoop to her level. "And the Allspark?" he growled.

_They can't find out._

"Honestly, sir," she shrugged nonchalantly, "I don't know." Her casual attitude disappeared immediately when she suddenly found herself almost thirty feet off the ground.

"Do not test me human, you know _where_ it is!" Starscream brought her to his optic level, forcing the teen to look straight into his blood red orbs.

_If leaves any earlier for Hoover Dam, he'll get there before Sam does. And if that happens..._

"I don-" Ash's words were cut off with a gasp when the second-in-command began to squeeze her body.

"Scalpel." The tiny doctor complied and skittered his way up Starscream's armor, across his arm, and perched himself on the larger mech's servo.

"Vill you not talk?" He asked, raising one metal digit. With an ominous click, he exposed what looked like a wicked syringe, a dark liquid swishing around in its tiny glass cylinder.

Ash's eyes widened. She'd never really had a problem with needles, but knowing exactly _who_ was holding it made a chill run down her spine.

_Everything will be totally screwed. You can't tell them, but you can't stay quiet either... or they'll kill you._

She shook her head, her eyes never leaving the apparatus. "I really don't-" She sucked in a breath once she felt the prick.

_Oh God..._

Scalpel slowly pressed down on the tool, the syringe emptying its contents into Ash's arm. As soon as the liquid entered her bloodstream, it felt like her upper arm was on fire!

With each second, the burning spread, making her scream. The pain was making her dizzy, and it made her thoughts blurr.

_Think! Think. Hoover dam...Sector Seven..._

"Ze location, human, and ze pain can stop." The girl barely registered another click that sounded as the doctor exposed another syringe, this one with a clear substance.

_Iceman... Megatron... Frenzy... Frenzy!_

Her throat was sore from her screaming when she finally slurred out the name, "F-freeeennnzyyy."

Starscream nodded and Scalpel injected the clear liquid.

"And _what_ about him?" the second-in-command scoffed, not impressed, "His signal was cut off several hours ago. The glitch got himself deactivated."

"N-not dead. J-Just m-missing a b-body, but n-not deac-tivated." The dark haired girl stuttered, still shaking from the effects of the first drug. "J-just b-before B-Bumble-b-bee left with S-Sam and Mi-Mikaela, Frenzy t-took the form of her c-cellphone."

Barricade raised an optic ridge, somewhat shocked at the news. Even _he_ had thought that the hacker had finally gotten himself into a slagheap of trouble that he couldn't get out of. When his scanners could no longer track Frenzy's signal, he thought that he had been sent to the matrix. The hunter had not seen the switch. He locked his gaze on the strange human girl.

What else did she know?

"And what does that have to do with anything?" The seeker said, not showing his own surprise, seemingly annoyed at the lack of a direct answer.

"An organization called Sector Seven has been tracking Witwicky's movements ever since the scout sent a signal into space to contact the rest of the Autobots the other night. They tracked Sam down to his house, and that resulted in his, Mikaela's, and Bumblebee's capture. There's no doubt that they're taking them to their HQ."

"And I assume that this... _Sector Seven, _knows of the cube's whereabouts?" His tone attested to his obvious skepticism.

"They _know_ about you, Starscream. All of you. Not just the Cons, not just the Autobots. **_All. Of. You._**" Ash emphasized each word. She had used the same tone that had previously rattled the Decepticons. She spoke with such certainty, and with a warning air, that they could not help but cringe once more.

"What is important is that Frenzy is with them, heading to their base of operations." She paused for a moment, thinking.

She glanced at her watch,_ already 5 am._

__Frenzy's going to be offline soon, so I can say all I want about him. Purrrrfect...__

"He will be able to give you the vital information you need to find the cube. I'm betting that he'll contact you in a few hours."

_No need to tell them that it's already there._

"And how might we know that you are not lying merely to escape?" Starscream kept his searing gaze on the girl before him. She matched it with her own defiant stare.

"You don't." She said simply, "But what reason would I have to incur the wrath of the _giant dorito of doom_ by lying?" Another wide, almost stupid looking grin settled itself on her face once again as the nicknamed mech bristled in response.

The world spun wildly around Aislinn as she found herself suddenly airborne. Barricade caught her in one servo, giving Starscream a hard look for tossing the human so carelessly- she had proved herself valuable after all- for now at least.

"Take her to the human hospital." the seeker repeated his command, waving his hand lazily, ignoring the curses the human had began spitting his way as soon as she had regained the breath that had been blasted from her lungs due to her rough landing.

"... cheese crackers!... marshmallow fudge!... I'm not some fragging _toy_ you can just toss around! What gives you the right you big dor-"

"I am not some kind of seasoned tortilla corn chip!" Starscream snarled, stomping forward.

Aislinn sat straighter, leaning forward to match the seeker's glare, as if to challenge him.

Glitching femme.

"And after?" the black and white mech cut in, subtly tilting the servo away from the fuming second-in-command before he did anything too rash. He hoped that he would not be forced to stay with the human any longer that necessary. Perhaps he could simply leave her at the hospital.

The seeker's head snapped violently from the infuriating human girl to look at Barricade. The other mech did not even flinch, his somber expression helped to cool the jet somewhat.

Starscream composed himself for a few moments, clenching and unclenching his fists as he cycled air through his vents.

"Keep her within optic range at all times, until we hear from Frenzy." He ground out slowly, simmering down. "I sense that we will be confronting the Autobots... and soon. Be ready when I issue the call, we will decide what to do with the girl then, depending on the situation."

Barricade nodded, not entirely happy with the babysitting assignment, but then orders were orders. He was a soldier after all.

Setting the human down none to gently, he caused her to spout another string of strange curses.

The expletives stopped a moment later, however, silenced by a series of clicks and whirs. The human looked on in awe as Barricade transformed, parts shifting and locking into new positions to form his police cruiser alt mode.

One of the back doors popped open.

When the girl simply stood with her mouth agape, making no move to get in, the mustang revved his engine impatiently.

"Get your fragging aft here, glitching femme!"

Jumping slightly, she began to limp forward. Something suddenly hit her square in the back, making her roll head over heels, her breath once again blasted from her lungs.

"I do believe zat you need to practice more subtlety Ztarzcream. Ve von't be able to make use of our little informant if you insist on injuring her." Scalpel tut-tutted.

"She'll live." Starscream said simply, looking smugly at the human scrambling to get up, hopping on her functional foot as she bent down to reach for her backpack.

"I do believe that she would have wanted her belongings anyway." He almost snickered as the girl looked at him, clearly annoyed. He did a good job keeping his expression indifferent, as though he had done nothing wrong.

Ash opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by the roar of Barricade's engine.

"Human..." he growled.

She huffed again, before turning to get in. She leaned heavily on the door, using it as a support as she got into the back seat.

A seatbelt snaked its way around her and snapped into place as soon as the door shut.

"Keep your hands to yourself fleshie." Barricade's voice warned from the radio when he saw her reaching out tentatively.

From the large entryway of the warehouse, Starscream and Scalpel watched the police cruiser turn and start down the road. It flashed its lights once and let its sirens give one string of wails in a sort of salute before making its way out of the compound.

_Finally._

"You do know zat ze femme vas only acting, do you not?" The seeker turned to look at the tiny doctor who was perched on his shoulder, only smirking in response.

"I never knew 'ow eccentric you could be Ztarzcream. You made qvuite ze actor yourself."

"And when was Megatron going to tell me that we make use of human spies now?" Starscream raised an optic ridge before turning to look back at the receding form of the black and white mustang.

"As I said, an act. I vas merely playing along vith ze girl." Scalpel waved a digit dismissively. Megatron would offline him if he told the second-in-command the truth. It was not his place to tell the cunning seeker anything. He was not yet supposed to know of the plan.

"Even so, she knows too much." Starscream conceded, not detecting the cover-up. "She knows about Soundwave, and that in itself is impossible." The air commander could only shake his head as he caught sight of the femme from the back window of the cruiser. She stuck her tongue out at him.

_Impudent._

Scalpel nodded, no more words needed to be said.

Both of them knew that the strange human girl was hiding something. Something big.

With her knowledge alone, she had proven that she could not possibly be an enemy spy. The autobots themselves had just arrived, and the mute scout could never have found the means to share any of the information she had given them.

She had knowledge of things that even the autobots themselves could not have known.

If only Ash knew, Frenzy had gone ahead of his brothers to serve as Barricade's partner.

Laserbeak, even with the numerous times he had worked with the humans, had never been to Nevada.

And Soundwave himself had yet to reach earth.

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks again for everything Krystal. :DD I hope you can keep tabs on the story and keep reading till the end. **

**Yes, I know that the plot is moving a bit slow. Don't worry, things will be speeding up in the next chapter. :DD**

**Please don't forget to send a review. Pretty pretty please? They make me happy and push me to update faster. _(Otherwise, I'll sick a super hyper Ash on you :D lolz.)_**

**Question for the chappie: How do you imagine Ash's appearance? If there's any actress you have in mind, please mention them. I'd like to see how my readers picture her. :DD**

**Will be working hard on the next chapter so I can get it to you in a few days, _hopefully. XDD_**

**Till the next chapter,**

**Moonstone **


	6. Chapter 6: The Weird and the Strange

**A/N: Wahaha! I'm baaaaaack! :D So did you guys miss me? Sorry about not updating for so long, but my life has been more hectic than I would like. I've been working through writer's block again, and I've been having a little difficulty in working with this chapter. I enjoyed writing it, but I'm not really satisfied with it. I don't think it's one of my best chapters, but I hope that this will make up for my long absence.**

**Also, there are quite a few OCs that I'll be introducing in this chapter, so I hope that that doesn't bother you.**

**Now, enough of keeping you guys waiting, here's the next installment of TF Backstories: Reality.**

**WORD COUNT (excluding A/Ns): 5,423 words**

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 6: The Weird and the Strange<strong>

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><p>This was weird- right now.<p>

While I tried to sit still on the edge of a hospital bed, I did my best not to stare. Well, at least do something to make my staring less obvious.

But considering how close the guy actually was to me? That was_ fudging_ _impossible_.

I took in his features as he sat in front of me, nimble fingers working with quick precision.

He looked like he was in his early twenties. Twenty two, I figured- maybe even younger.

His dark copper hair was somewhat shaggy with a slight wave to the strands. He had a pale, alabaster complexion. Not completely flawless. There was a line running from his mid-forearm to past his elbow- a scar. The beginnings of another peeked just above the white fabric of his collar.

_I wonder where he got those?_

What really got my eyes glued to him was something I never expected to see. Well, at least not in this dimension.

The determined expression on his face made his brows furrow in serious concentration- a focused look blazing in his eyes.

Kind eyes.

Brown eyes.

Warm, honey brown colored eyes that-

A sudden growl rolled out from behind me, making those light brown orbs meet mine for one heart-stopping moment, before turning to look at the door.

"Hey, Barri-" he began, before pausing abruptly, "Uhmm- _Bard_." The male nurse who had been trying to help me get the _fudging_ caulking putty out of the cuts on my hands corrected himself as he stood up. A simple annoyed grunt was the only reply to his greeting.

"Wait!" The nurse called out as he shot across the room. When I turned around, all I saw was the heel of a black shoe as it disappeared around the corner. The first person replaced by the doctor who was attending to me.

"Is there anything wrong, officer Bard?" Her question was directed at someone I couldn't see.

"Nothing." The reply was deep and monotonous as it drifted through the doorway. I could detect the irritated growl in the tone.

I don't know if it was just my exhaustion making me hear things, but for a moment it sounded like the growl blended into an almost _tired… _what?…sigh? I mentally scoffed at the idea.

"Long shift?" The doctor's expression turned sympathetic. Her hand reached out, but immediately flinched back like she had just stuck her hand too close to a fire. Then I heard the sound of footsteps moving briskly down the hallway.

_Aft._

The next few moments after that were awkward.

The doctor stood stunned at first, glued to her place in front of the doorway, then she furiously scribbled away at the papers on her clipboard. An embarrassed expression was plastered on her flustered face.

The nurse was quiet, not really knowing what to do with his superior blocking his path to the other man who had just left.

And then there was me. Sitting on the pale blue sheets in a thin hospital gown.

It took a few minutes before there was a break in the silence.

"Uhmmm... Doctor Paxton?" The nurse started hesitantly.

Doctor Paxton looked up from her work at her subordinate for two seconds before-

_Smack!_

_"Ow!_ What was that for?_"_

The sound of the wooden clipboard connecting with the guy's shoulder echoed loudly through the room. I could only gawk disbelievingly at the the doctor's actions.

"Now, Mr Lyman." The head nurse scolded him like an angry mother hen. It was absolutely _hilarious! _"We are professionals. Forgetting to address your authorities properly is quite unprofessional."

"Unprofessional? Who hit me on the shoulder with a c-"

_Smack!_

"Talking back at your superiors. _Tut tut tut._"

"But I-"

_Smack!_

"Doc!"

_Smack!_

"Daniel... you-"

_Snort._

I _was_ biting my lip trying to hold in my laughter but fate definitely _still_ had something against me. If the laughs couldn't come out through my mouth, they just _had_ to go through my nose.

_Oops._

Who in the pit would want the med staff in charge of their_ treatment_ and _physical well-being_ giving them the stinkeye?

_Fudge._

I guess I could have been at least grateful that I didn't farrrr- rruhmmm... weeeeelllll... I don't have to say it.

I gave a nervous laugh in return and waved my half-treated hand at them.

_That_ made them snap out of it- and about time anyway.

I was seriously getting chilled from the obvious lack of _real_ clothing, while they were acting like five-year-olds. I really doubt that Barricade would particularly enjoy me sneezing up the inside of his cab with my "disgusting" - as he would probably put it- human virus.

"Well then..." Doctor Patton started, giving Daniel a short look. I _swear_ she looked like she was holding back from hitting the him again.

With that, Daniel shot back across the room to his seat on the plastic chair in front of me. Mumbling a hurried apology, he grinned sheepishly before resuming his previous cleaning and bandaging of my hands.

"Alright Miss Fox-"

I put on the best pokerface I could.

_Cheese..._

It was even _harder_ trying not to laugh my head off being called "Fox". Trust me. I know that I'm no Megan. I guess it was a good thing that the doc was looking down at some papers when I felt my face twitch.

"Most of your injuries are minor. Just cuts and bruises-"

She looked up from her clipboard and looked at me when she asked a question.

"-How did you get the large bruise on your back?"

I had initially given the hospital staff the story that I had been attacked by a couple of guys. They had chased me to an old warehouse where they beat me up - which explained the cuts and bruises I got from rolling down a hill. I had jumped out of one of the windows in desperation, and landed awkwardly on the ground- which could explain how I ended up with fractured and sprained ankle.

The bruise the size of Texas was probably from that slagging stupid dorito Starscream chucking my backpack at me.

When the lady suddenly looked at me strangely, I figured that I probably said the last part out loud. Now she must think I'm some kind of loon.

_Snort._

I glared at the guy sitting in front of me. He was snickering- most likely from my use of strange names and unique "curse" words. He didn't look up from what he was doing, but his shoulders were shaking from holding back more chuckles.

_Cheese_. Karma was getting weird with me too.

"O-Oookay then." Doctor Patton jotted something down before continuing with her report.

"Cuts and bruises, and a small acid burn on your hand." She indicated a red blotch on my right hand. It looked like something you'd get if you touched something too hot.

"Nothing much to worry about. It may sting for a few more days until it heals, but a cold compress should do the trick. As much as possible, keep it exposed. Don't wear gloves or any tight clothing that could touch the burn. But if you absolutely have to, make sure it's loose."

"Okay."

/"Doctor Luna Patton, to the nurse's station please. Doctor Patton, to the nurse's station please"/ A voice sounded over the intercom.

"Other than that, it looks like you have a hairline fracture on both your tibia and fibula aside from the obvious sprained ligaments. We'll take a closer look at that swelling after I run these papers by the nurse's station. Daniel-" She addressed the copper-haired man, "- call me after you finish dressing those wounds."

"Yes, doctor."

Her heels clicked on the tile floor as she walked out the door, once more scribbling away at her clipboard. (_Oooh. I made a rhymie. :D)_

Once the clicking finally dissipated into quiet, Daniel paused to look up at me for a moment, a curious look in his eyes. Out of instinct, a goofy smile plastered itself on my face. Just like every time I saw-

"What's with the grin?" Daniel chuckled as he continued working.

"It's nothing really." My smile turned nostalgic, "You just remind me of-" _a guy I really like back home..._ My lips curved downward, "- someone I know."

"Oh." The guy's expression turned oddly sympathetic.

"Is that how you got into this too?"

_Wait-_

"What?" I stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"You don't need to keep pretending you know. I lost someone too... " He trailed off for a moment before continuing, "I know about the Decepticons and the Autobots, the all out war that they're probably going to have here on earth-" His tone was strangely casual, like he was talking about the _fudging weather!_

"- And I know you're with Barricade."

"So _you're_ who he was talking about. " I realized.

Earlier that morning, while the 'con was driving me to the medical clinic, he had mentioned that going to one of the larger hospitals would be risky and could possibly draw a bit of unwanted attention. Especially with Sector 7 now alerted to the presence of NBEs in the area.

So yeah, my bad. Wherever he took me, it was more of a large clinic than a hospital.

"Yeah?" He asked, smiling. "What did he say about me?"

He was _smiling_? While talking about _Barricade_?

The fudge was wrong with this dude? Smiling while talking about a Con would be okay for someone like me- someone who still didn't have the thought of the Transformers being real thoroughly sink in.

"I know. It's weird." He said easily. Almost like he had actually read my mind!

"He just said that you were an old acquaintance." I wrinkled my forehead, staring more intensely at him. He had already finished the bandaging, so he returned the look. I didn't let the familiarity of his eyes bother me this time. "How did _you _meet 'Cade?"

"_'Cade?_" He asked incredulously. "You're giving 'cons nicknames? Like I heard you call Starscream a... _dorito_." He chuckled. "I've never seen or heard of anyone with the guts to call the _second-in-command_ names."

_Cheeseballs._ Was I acting too familiar?

"Well, you seem pretty relaxed, despite the fact that you're talking about _cold-blooded killers_." I shot back at him, trying to change the subject.

"They're not all like that." He put a hand on my shoulder, leaning forward as he let his honey brown orbs burn right into mine. It felt like he could see right through me. "They're not all mindless murderers. And I know you know it too."

Daniel sat back in his chair, taking on a contemplative pose.

"Those guys, yes, I'll admit that some of them are really messed up and evil. But when you think about it, most of them are just soldiers. Soldiers that have to follow orders. Soldiers caught up in a war." He stared at me like he was expecting something.

I stayed silent. This guy must have seen a lot of things- to be able to feel that way.

I mean, yeah, I'd thought about those kinds of things before. But it never really had that much meaning to me. It was all speculation and theories, the subject of fan talk. But now that I was _actually_ living in it...

The autobots and decepticons had been at war for thousands, maybe even millions of years. Being surrounded by so much death, suffering, and loss for so long- war changes you.

"Exactly." I must have voiced my thoughts out loud again, because the guy was smiling somberly now. "When you're fighting for that long, sometimes you lose sight of what you were fighting for in the first place."

I stayed quiet for a moment, gathering my thoughts.

"How can you see it like that?" I asked disbelievingly, "Anybody else would have just focused on all the killing the decepticons did and the suffering they caused."

"Well... both my grandfather and my dad were soldiers. I would have been one too, but-" He stood up, gathering the extra tools and materials and putting them away. He gestured a lot with his hands while he talked, moving around the room, like an avid story teller.

"-they had a lot of things to say when they finished their time with the army, especially my dad. I guess you could say that that's probably where I learned to think differently. They both told me that when you're a soldier on the field, sometimes the line between right and wrong gets blurred. I'm not saying that what the decepticons are doing is "right" or that they should be excused- it's just that they're still going about their war the _wrong_ way."

As he wrapped up his little "lecture", his pacing brought him back to the space in front of me. "And they aren't the only killers now, are they?" He paused for dramatic effect. "I'm sure the autobots killed their fair share of decepticons too." He looked at me, and I could only stare dumbly back at him.

I was in an absolute state of awe.

"How in the pit could someone like you be working for the 'cons?" I questioned softly. This guy should be a fudging_ diplomat_ or something. Someone like him should be the human-autobot liaison.

He laughed at that. "I don't really essentially _"work" _for them I'm more of a neutral in this war. I do what I can to help Barricade, as long as it doesn't cause any harm to anyone. I won't give him up to the government or to the autobots- but I'd do the same thing for the other side as well. I'm just a guy who thought he'd do more good in a clinic than on the field. Then I got caught up in all this."

He held up my decepticon insignia necklace.

_Cheese crackers!_

My hand immediately shot to my neck. How could I have been so _careless_?

"This is a _dangerous_ thing to be carrying around. You better be more careful if you still plan on keeping it."

I snatched it from him, holding it tightly between my fingers. When did I even lose it?

"The catch is loose, you better change it." He advised.

I nodded numbly at him, still in a state of shock.

"Oh yeah, to answer your question. How did I meet Barricade? He's the one who blew up my dad's police cruiser."

* * *

><p>"Fudge. I hope my headphones didn't get busted." I worried as I exited the glass doors of the large clinic. Now I was dressed in an old pair of sweatpants and a loose shirt (care of Daniel), I had my ankle in a splint. I'd have to come back in a few days for a real cast after the swelling went down.<p>

Both my hands were now in bandages, and I had explicit orders from the doctor to get to bed and keep my moving around to a minimum for at least a day or two.

Like chyuh if _that's_ gonna happen. What with a full blown Bot-Con showdown going down later on? I don't think so.

Sighing and fumbling with my backpack, I dug through my things to retrieve the yellow and black item while I walked toward the short set of steps leading to the parking lot. My mind was still reeling from the little chat I had with Daniel, and I felt like if I didn't get some music to help calm my thoughts in the next few minutes, my brain would most likely melt.

Just as my fingers wrapped around the object I was looking for, I felt my good foot somehow get tangled up with my crutches. I found myself suddenly pitching forward, watching as the world seemed to move in slow motion. The wooden supports I had been holding just a moment earlier clattering noisily down the stairs.

"YAAAA-_ACK_!" My scream turned into a choking cough as a hand roughly grabbed the collar of my shirt.

"You leave my sight for a nanoklik..." a voice said from behind me, sounding disbelieving and annoyed.

I was still choking as I was tilted away from the stairs. Whoever kept my face from connecting with the concrete was holding me diagonally from the ground, so when he let go, I landed on my hands and knees.

_Ouch. _Well, _that_ was an understatement.

While I coughed and gasped like a fish out of water, a pair of black shoes stepped into my line of sight.

"You _*breathe*_know, you could have _*cough*_ grabbed my _arm _instead." I said irritably, looking up to meet a pair eyes the strangest shade of brown. Almost red actually if it caught a little light.

"You're staring again, fleshie." Barricade said irritably.

I scoffed, denying the red that crept onto my cheeks. But honestly, I really couldn't get over the appearance of Barricade's holoform.

When he and I had reached the clinic earlier, I wondered how he would be able to monitor me when I went inside.

_Keep her within optic range at all times_, Starscream had said. And I do believe that Barricade is one of the very few who think that the seeker is relevant to their search of the allspark- hence he was also one of the few that followed without (too much) complaint.

When lines of light started flickering in the driver's seat, I'd expected the old mustache dude hologram from the movie to pop up.

Primus, I couldn't have been any more _wrong_.

When the light finally focused, what I got was a tall, well-built (though not a _'yeah, look at mah muscles' _kind of buff) dude. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, slightly tan, with almost messy looking, cropped jet black hair. In other words, if he weren't a Decepticon, he would have definitely passed for handsome in my book.

Or, maybe it was _because _he was a 'Con that I found myself getting so flustered by his looks.

His holoform looked almost casual despite the dark navy blue cop uniform he was wearing. Plus the way he held himself with his arms crossed while he was frowning down at me made him look extra cool…

Oh, who am I kidding? He's hawt!

But he'll never hear those words come from me. I think that wouldn't be the best idea right now.

Gawd! This is so unfair. Putting clumsy, currently scruffy-looking little me beside a supah _"I'm-so-much-better-than-you"_ Barricade.

This sucked.

"You're _supposed_ to be my _brother_." I blurted out angrily, trying to ignore the embarrassed flush on my cheeks, pushing my previous thoughts to the back of my mind.

Why the _heck_ did I even blurt that out? Stress really made me weird, loopy, and easily annoyed. Or maybe it was the pain meds I just took that were making me this way? Maybe both...

"A mere ruse. I do believe you are not so fragged as to think that I really _am_ your sibling. I am not even organic." He scoffed, rolling his eyes.

Well _duh_! Of course I knew that.

_Oh yeah! _I forgot to tell you guys earlier that when I first told the clinic staff my story, I had said that 'Cade was my brother. I had called him, which was supposed to explain how he somehow knew to go looking for me at the junkyard.

So yeah, I kinda panicked a bit. Then my stupid glitching fan girl side had to takeover for a few minutes and come up with a scenario that a lot of girls would have loved to be in.

"Slagging medical staff. Glitchheads, all of them. I can't comprehend as to why they believed that little story of yours. We look _nothing_ alike."

"Well, you should be grateful that they actually _did_ believe me. I saved your lazy aft from thinking up your own, most likely messed up, scenario." I shot back.

"And, just so you know, siblings don't need to look so alike to be related. For all you know, we could have taken after different parents, or I could be your adopted sister. It's not uncommon. Besides, what's so odd about my _sweet_ older brother being a hero and saving me from a bunch of bullies?" He glared at me when I bat my lashes and gave him a sarcastically sugary sweet smile.

"I am capable of making a hundred more scenarios a thousand times better than your idea." He said matter-of-factly.

_Slagging aft._

After a few seconds of silence, he still didn't make any move to help me, so I had to get up on my own. I hopped on my good foot while I shrugged on my backpack.

The movement made me go off balance, as a result, I landed on my butt. I sighed in frustration.

" 'Cade," I said looking up, "You better start acting like a responsible older _brother_ before I tell them that you're actually some kind of psycho-child-abuser-police-dude abusing his authority." My tone was all sing-song-y.

I poked a finger on his shin several times with the last few syllables to reiterate my point.

Yes. He was solid.

Allow me to explain.

Mustache man, apparently, was a standard holo-_gram_. All light, no mass. Based on a mashed up version of the traditional images of a cop that he got from the web to make one illusion.

Holo_-forms_, as Barricade had sort of "explained" earlier, used complicated technology that my "_puny human processor" _couldn't even begin to understand.

What solidified those forms was integrating a part of the spark into the holoform. That's why each form was unique, based on each individual cybertronian's personality. These 'forms, unlike the 'grams, allowed the user to _see, hear_, and, if on solid mode, _feel_ outside of their robotic bodies.

Barricade's holoform narrowed his eyes.

Quickly retrieving the crutches, he grabbed me by the strap of my backpack, hauling me up on my feet none to gently, and roughly shoved the crutches in my arms.

"Glitching femme, using this solid holoform constantly drains energy that I _do not_ want to waste on some..." his eyes twitched for a second when he looked at me, then his lips twisted into a disgusted frown, "..._fleshbag._"

He turned on his heel and walked toward the direction of the police cruiser.

"Learn to use those supports of yours properly." he growled without even turning around to look at me.

I sighed... looks like I've been doing that a lot lately...

_Not much help, but I'll take what I can get._

I looked my headphones over.

They were slightly scratched, and one muff seemed a bit off. After a bit of jiggling to try and fix it, the left circle of plastic imprinted with an angry bumblebee fell off.

Grumbling as I juggled with my crutches and headphones, I bent over, gingerly picking it up, running one thumb on its glossy surface. There was a crack on it.

Oh well...

I put the piece in my pocket just as the black and white mustang rolled over to the front of the clinic entrance, its engine giving an impatient rev.

"Alright already!"

I rolled my eyes, hobbling my way down the wheelchair ramp to the open backseat door.

* * *

><p><em>Strange girl.<em>

**:My thoughts exactly.:**

Two pairs of eyes watched as the cruiser rolled away.

_She's a Keeper too, isn't she?_

**:Yes.: **

Navy eyes met honey brown.

**:I'm quite surprised that you caught on so easily, Daniel.:**

_It comes with the job description. Besides, I've been around you long enough. I guess your skills have rubbed off on me._

**:You wish.:**

The second figure shifted.

"Hey! Don't you go whacking me with that again."

The female laughed, eyes brightening into a bright purple with her mirth.

"If what you say is true, did you sense that she is actually the final Keeper?"

"Wait, what?- Really?" The lady only tossed the clipboard toward Daniel. As he caught it, Dr. Luna Patton's form shimmered.

"Moonbeam!"

Mechanical laughter echoed in Daniel Lyman's head as he turned to look across the parking lot at a sleek silvery blue Honda. Lights flashed on and off for a moment as it shuddered, before it went completely still once more.

**:Shush, Daniel. We can talk about this again later. I may be a Guardian, but I still tire when using these holoforms. Besides, I have another Keeper to check on.:**

_You mean the D-_

**:Don't mock him, Lyman. There's more to him than you know.:**

* * *

><p><strong>Miles away…<strong>

"Sir."

A middle-aged mustached man with sandy brown hair and a dark suit stood staring at the data displayed on several screens. He turned to look at his subordinate who was fiddling with the buttons on his white lab coat.

"Well, speak up." He urged sternly. Though the older man spoke softly, his tone was serious.

"Uhmmm, sir. Miss Melbourne is in the cryo-storage room again." The young lab assistant said hesitantly.

"Aagh..." He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I told Dawson to keep an eye on her. Take her back to her quarters. She can't be in the lower levels right now."

"I tried. She won't leave, sir." He said apologetically.

The man let out a long sigh before turning to leave the lab. Expertly weaving through the the maze of halls- a talent that came with many years of working with the organization, he easily made his way to a large room (if you could call it that). Steel panels lined the high walls- dim lights glowing in lines between each plate.

White, frosty mist lazily rolled across the floor, and around the massive robotic form in the center of the room like a blanket. The mech had his faceplates in a permanent scowl of anger. As though he were caught screaming in frustration.

More men in lab coats and biohazard suits walked around the room, going about their duties. Their soft chatter along with the occasional beep and buzz from several machines creating a lulling hum.

The aura of the room would have been considered mysterious, and strangely calming. Perhaps even more so if one ignored the military men standing guard at the doors and milled by the catwalks surrounding the upper perimeter of the facility.

One particular metal platform extended from the wall, toward the frozen metal sentinel. It cut off barely ten feet from the beast's chest, and on the very edge of the walk, sitting with her legs dangling off the edge, bare feet swinging back and forth- was a girl.

With one small hand on the steel railing to keep her from falling, she only wore a pair of loose purple of flannel pants and a large shirt with a superman-like logo emblazoned on the front. She was tiny, almost delicate looking, and very young. She couldn't have been more than twelve years old.

She was blatantly out of place in the dimly lit room. On the opposite end of the walk, a soldier watched her intently. Keeping an eye on her, but giving the child her personal space as well. The mustached man appeared beside the guard, hands clasped behind his back.

"Dawson."

Said soldier looked to his superior and after giving him a subtle salute, returned to observing his charge.

The two men stayed silent as they watched her.

"She said she had to come here, sir. I'm not exactly sure why, but I couldn't tell her 'no'."

"She's strange that way, Dawson. She sees things we don't, and that's why Seymour wanted here."

Strange indeed. The young girl could hear them as they talked, but didn't mind them.

She kept her eyes on the glowing red optics of the mechanical man before her. Compared to the other times she had come here and gazed at the Decepticon, it's eyes seemed more alive than they had been for the past few weeks.

Aside from his eyes, Cara Melbourne could sense something strangely different about the metal figure standing before her. A strange aura seemed to shimmer around him, almost as though he were anticipating something.

Something big.

"Come on, kiddo. You can finish analyzing tomorrow." Private Dawson picked up the red-headed pixie from her perch, and proceeded leave the catwalk. "Time to get to bed."

The girl looked at the suited man as they passed him. Her deep blue eyes met his as she said softly, "Night, Tom."

Thomas Banachek, head of S7's advanced research division, watched the odd pair leave. When they finally disappeared through the doorway, he looked to the towering titan in the middle of the room, thoughts going back to the look that the child had thrown him.

There was something in her eyes that told him to be ready.

And be ready _soon_.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Woooohoooo! Would you guys consider this a cliffie? Sorry about that, but I had to cut it off here. Sorry if you find some the ending scenes a bit confusing, but they'll be key to the story line later on.**

**Don't worry, next chappie will be focused on more bonding time between Barricade and Ash, so you can definitely look forward to that. :D**

**I'll probably update by the end of the week, depending on what my instructors decide, you know, college work and all that. I still have to put my studies higher up on my priority list.**

**QUESTION FOR THE CHAPTER: What do you guys suggest for Cade and Ash's bonding time? I've already written part of the chapter, but maybe a few suggestions from you guys would help it along. :DD**

**Thanks to all those who reviewed, and put this story on their favs and alerts. :DD You all make me sooo happy! :DD**

**Reviews are vital to me as a writer, like energon is to a cybertronian. **

**So please review :DD they make me update faster too. :DD**

**Till the next chappie,**

**Moonstone**


	7. Chapter 7: Agree, Disagree

**A/N: Ah, dear readers, you wound me. Over a hundred hits and only 3 reviews for the 6th chapter. _OH!_ _My poor heart. _:'(. Lucky for you guys, those who _did _review really encouraged me to keep writing. So thanks to:  
><strong>**  
>Grazehunter, Atoxiclullaby1, and Lady Mariha.<strong>

**They gave me a good push and fueled my muse. Thanks also to all those who alerted and fav'd this story. You guys are the best! **

**So, I won't delay this any longer, here is the Cade and Ash time I promised. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

><p><strong>WORD COUNT (excluding ANs): 3, 172 words**

* * *

><p>We had been driving around for the past hour, and Cade hadn't said a word to me since we left the clinic. Well, at least aside from another warning to keep my hands to myself.<p>

In all honesty, I was just trying to distract myself. I was getting _really_ **hungry**. The last meal I had was a late lunch about fifteen hours ago, back in my own dimension.

Aside from that fact, it was still just past 8 am. We wouldn't be expecting any action for a while. At least not till Sam and Mikaela got to the dam and Frenzy got his body back. That would take some time, and I was getting extremely bored.

I would have slept a bit to pass the time, but Cade wouldn't let me sprawl across the back seat or lean against the side. So right now, I was sitting in the middle of the upholstery, back rigid, neck and shoulders stiff from trying to stay upright. I wouldn't have minded sitting like that if the atmosphere wasn't so dull.

"Come on Cade. Give me something." I poked the back of the driver's seat insistently.

He just stayed silent, the only sound I could hear was the purr of the engine and the rush of air outside as we continued to navigate through various streets.

I gave an exaggerated sigh. If I wasn't so tired, I would have given the Con an audio receptor full.

"I'm not sure if you know… _*sigh*… _but I saved your fragging life… _*yawn*… _You could at least show some… appreciation. Why do you have to be so cold?" I snapped at him between yawns.

As much as I loved the idea of hanging out with Barricade at first...

_Oh, Jazz. Why couldn't I have ended up saving you instead? Then at least I'd have someone cool as my guardian. Not mean and angry Barricade… _

My head was starting to loll again while I daydreamed about the saboteur and the other 'Bots, but then my stomach growled. Then all I could think was:

_Food._

_Fooood._

_Cheeseburger maybe…_

_Fries…_

_Mmmmmm…_

I couldn't sleep with my hunger clawing at my insides like a feral cat.

A resentful hum vibrated through the cab as Barricade half growled.

"I _do_ know, human. You don't need remind me of my failure. I should have been able to squish that bug." He vented his disappointment.

I would have tried to console him or something, but I didn't think that would work so well. Plus, I was still kinda pissed at him, and I was cranky. I don't talk very nice when I'm cranky.

"Then why don't you loosen up a bit? Why do you have to be mean to me?" At the clinic, at the parking lot, not letting me try to get some comfortable rest...

_'Well, he **is** a decepticon.'_

True. What did I expect anyway? We'd get along like everything's fine and dandy? A Con is a Con.

Yeah, sure. There was always the possibility having good somewhere in them. Deep, _deep_, **_deeeep, _**in the **deeeepest** recesses of their spark.

But obviously, a few hours of my company wouldn't change what millennia of fighting did to mechs like Barricade. This wasn't some fantasy.

I guess all the speculation about experiencing a "living-in-my-favorite-fandom" thing was wrong. It wasn't so great. Especially when you have to _actually _deal with mean mechs like the Cons. You'd have to have the fragging goddess of fortune on your side to get things the way you want.

The ideal thing would have been ending up with Sammy boy. At least I knew what happens to him throughout the entire movie. So I knew what to expect, and how to deal with it. That also assured me the chance of getting to meet all the autobots.

Which would have been **_fudgecakes_** of _awesome_!

"You're glitching fleshie. You know what I am, and yet you expect me to be_ kind_?"

I sat, with my arms folded and my cheeks puffed up. It may have been childish, but it kept me from illogically kicking at the back of the driver's seat and lashing out at Barricade.

"Stop acting like a sparkling, fleshie."

"Then stop acting like an aft." I grouched. "Fudging con..."

He growled, "I may be a Decepticon, human, but do you think you would still be alive if what you did didn't concern me at all? Your life should be enough compensation. I don't need to be _nice_." He spat the final word out like it was poison.

I stayed quiet for a few moments. I was just _tired_- both physically and mentally.

"Fine, don't be nice- but at least be _civil_." I sighed softly. "This fighting won't help either of us get through the day."

"Alright then, femme." He consented he said lowly. It seemed like I wasn't the only one who was tired. I heard the same hint of exhaustion in his voice that I heard earlier on in the clinic.

"But don't expect anything more than that."

I gave a nod and a mock salute, knowing that Barricade would somehow see the movement.

"Aye, aye captain!" My stomach rumbled in unison, making my cheeks turn red.

"That infernal sound is annoying." He grouched.

"Well, sorry. I-"

"Get out-"

"-wha?-"

"Get out, and get yourself some form of sustenance before I shoot you to stop that rumbling."

I hadn't noticed, but we were now parked in front of an old diner near the outskirts of town. I guess I had been too preoccupied with my argument with Barricade.

I wondered when he had actually decided to take us here- because there was no way that we just happened to be in the area... so that must mean...

"Out!"

The passenger seat lowered, and I scrambled as fast as I could out of the vehicle with my injured ankle.

"Yeah, yeah! Don't be a grouch about it."

I turned back to grab my crutches, when they nearly collided with face. Barricade's holoform was holding them out with a tired expression on his face.

"Don't draw any attention to yourself, and be quick about it."

I took them from him with one hand, the other leaning on the roof of the mustang for support. The image flickered and disappeared and the door slammed shut the moment I leaned back far enough to barely avoid getting clipped.

Despite his snippy attitude, I'd already caught on to his efforts to be "civil".

Maybe it was just that the sounds my stomach had probably been grating on his circuits for longer than I thought, but that didn't really matter to me. He did take me here, after all. He could have simply muted his audio receptors, and left me to my misery.

So before I turned toward the entrance of the diner, I gave him a small smile.

"Thanks Cade."

I walked to the diner, throwing one more offhanded comment over my shoulder.

"Maybe after this, we can both grab some recharge. Not much is going to happen for another couple hours anyway." Primus knew we both needed it.

* * *

><p>I always knew that I would never come to understand these humans. They are inferior creatures, and few ever were truly worth any consideration at all. Even fewer worth any actual importance to the decepticon cause.<p>

This strange human seemed beat the odds for one of such a young age, and I was curious as to how and why. She had survived torture from Scalpel, stood her ground against Starscream, and even mocked the air commander without hesitation.

That had definitely earned her a portion of my respect, meager as it may have been. Not many humans would have gone through what she had within the first few hours of their meeting without bending over completely in submission.

She had spark.

And a brave spark it must have been to aid me when I had almost died from energon loss. She could have left me there, and there would be one less decepticon to push her and the rest of the human race around. She could have simply walked away, joined ladiesman217 and the other femme even. Then she could have rendezvoused with the autobots, assuring her own safety. Prime would have welcomed her with open arms with the information she could offer.

But she didn't.

She stuck with me.

As evil as most believed us decepticons to be (and rightly so), some of us still stuck to our own codes of honor- twisted as most of them may be.

"Maybe after this, we can both grab some recharge. Not much is going to happen for another couple hours anyway." She had said casually as she walked away.

She had said "_we_". Perhaps she had included myself because she did not like admitting that she was tired, or maybe she had somehow sensed my own fatigue from the lack of a proper recovery period. Somehow, as glitching as she would be to think it, I believe it was the latter.

Even before that, despite my display of classic decepticon spite, she had even thanked me.

Yes, as reluctant as I am to admit, even to myself, and no other, no one else will know until Megatron himself has to pick my processor apart and have Scalpel analyze the pieces- I owed the human.

* * *

><p>"I'm sooo sorry Cade!"<p>

Alright, I take it back. I owe this stupid fleshbag nothing.

"I warned you, _human! _Why didn't you consume your food in the dining establishment in the first place?"

I had given her the chance to purchase what she needed, and she ends repaying me by spilling her beverage all over the back seat and floor of my cab.

"I just- well..." She stuttered and quickly changed the topic. "Well, you were the one who tried choking me with french fries!" She huffed.

True, but I _had _told her to control her base desire to sate her hunger for several more kliks, and she had disobeyed. She had it coming when I had jerked my alt form just enough for her to faceplant on the back of the passenger seat, forcibly stuffing that poor excuse of sustenance down her throat. Her flailing had knocked over the container of soda.

I would have transformed and strangled the life out of her, but that would just cause the sugary liquid to compress uncomfortably and risk damage to my inner circuits. Damage that wouldn't be enough to compensate for the satisfaction of smothering that insignificant human.

With so much fury boiling in my circuits, and not being able to physically act on it, I sped from one end of the old warehouse we were currently in- drifting and burning rubber with each 360 degree turn.

I was infuriated with my moment of weakness. I should have simply left her to starve. Humans could survive for weeks without sustenance anyway. The decepticon cause only needed her alive, in the strictest definition of the word. Informants were only valuable for what they knew, they didn't necessarily need to be fully physically functional.

"SLAG!"

I had to brake and swerve when the human foolishly jumped in front of me. She was lucky that I knew how to maneuver myself well. Otherwise, she would have been a smear on the concrete underneath my wheels.

"FOOL, FEMME!"

"Will you stop pacing already so I can try and do something about it?" She yelled with her arms held up.

I growled at her, she dared to raise her voice at me? There was no way in the pit that I would let her touch me. She'd probably do more harm than good.

"You are going nowhere near me. You've caused enough trouble."

"Then how in _cheeseballs_ are you supposed to keep an eye on me properly once we have to leave later?" She questioned, crossing her arms.

_Rrrrrrrr..._

As severely as I wanted to as of the moment, Starscream would have my helm if I left the fleshbag behind.

"Come on! That soda is going to get _stickier_ the longer it stays there." She pointed out simply, "And I'm sure that's _fudging_ uncomfortable."

I continued to growl at her, especially when she had the guts to put her hand on my hood. Before I could back away from her grasp, she put a firm grip on the steel push bar. It wouldn't have stopped me from dragging her, but that would have required me to take her for medical assistance once more.

"There's an old sink with a couple of rags over there." She gestured to one corner of the structure. "I can do what I can to clean up my mess, even if you caused it-"

_Rrrrrrr..._

"Or you suck it up and deal with it the whole day." She stared directly at the tinted glass of my windshield.

_No. _

I would not be able to function properly with the remnants of that beverage tainting my insides.

"I will not subject myself to to the use of those filthy rags." The scraps of cloth that she had been indicating were either stained with oil and grease, or yellow with disuse.

_Disgusting._

The dark haired fleshie let out an exasperated breath, rolling her eyes muttering something along the lines of me acting like a spoiled sparkling, before she stretched out the front end of her over sized shirt.

"Then just trim of-" She jumped back when the blades hidden behind my headlights snapped out and sliced off a good portion of the white cloth. Now the article of clothing ended at her waist line instead of mid-thigh.

I could only chuckle lowly at the expression on her face. Inspiring fear in humans was enjoyable.

"Frag you Cade." She approached me to pry open the door of my vehicular mode when I yanked the cloth from her hands.

"Who said you were doing anything, femme." I was not taking any risks. The simplest things seemed to turn complicated when she was involved.

* * *

><p>I nearly freaked when I suddenly had Barricade's holoform breathing down my neck.<p>

"_Cheesecakes!_"

Okay... so I _did _kinda freak. Well who wouldn't? Fudging holoforms being able to pop up everywhere.

He smirked at my reaction, apparently amused. I slapped him on the shoulder as hard as I could to distract him from the red that tinted my cheeks, but he didn't even flinch. It only made him chuckle more.

Walking to the side of the police cruiser, he popped the door open with ease.

I stood by, arms crossed, waiting for him to finish the job.

Just as he was about to get in though, he cringed. A grimace suddenly plastered itself on his face as his holoform abruptly flickered and disappeared.

That made me worry. I expected him to roar out in frustration, but all he let out was an angry, yet fatigued growl.

He must have been lower on energon reserves than I originally thought. He definitely needed more time to recover.

I let out a heavy breath, picking up the cloth, and walking over to the open door.

"_Femme_..." He growled threateningly. Or as threateningly as he could sounding so tired anyway.

_Pshaw..._

"Stop complaining. I can handle cleaning up a simple spill." Even I wasn't _that_ clumsy.

He was most likely still hesitant about it, but he didn't slam the door on me, so I carefully stepped inside and got to work.

I soaked the cloth in the soda, and squeezed the excess outside. When the puddle was sufficiently lessened, I dabbed at the leather seat and pressed the cloth to it to try and get to any liquid that might have seeped into the upholstery as well. It took a few back and forth trips to the sink to rinse out the cloth and thoroughly clean up the mess, but I finished in about ten minutes.

"Done."

I backed out of the car, finally satisfied with the cleanup. It seemed that Barricade was also satisfied, because as I stretched to relieve the ache in my back, he transformed into his bipedal form.

He mumbled what I took as a barely discernible sort of thank you before he sat down, leaning his back to the wall of the warehouse tiredly.

I felt sorry for the mech. He had to keep an eye on me, and he was forcing himself to keep vigilant even if he really needed to rest. I grabbed what was left of my meager takeout and went to sit directly in front of him.

"I'm not going anywhere Cade. You better get some recharge while you can." I said while munching on my food, keeping my eyes locked on his optics.

"I don't trust you, human. What makes you think I will give you the chance to escape." He growled, once I finished eating.

I couldn't help but pout when I noticed how dim his optics were and how they shuttered every few moments. Despite all that, he still struggled to keep his posture straight and threatening, even if he was obviously slipping into recharge.

_Cheese_, this mech was going to force himself into emergency stasis if he doesn't get some rest soon.

"Look at me," I pointed at the circles that were beginning to show underneath my eyes, "does it look like I have the strength to run away?"

He stared at me for several moments before he finally grunted in consent, finally seeing my logic. He probably remembered that he could track me down easily anyway.

"_Fine, human_. But know that my sensors are locked on you, and if you do try to escape, I will bring you within inches of sending you to the matrix."

Adjusting his position, his optics slowly dimmed, then shuttered, finally shutting down his systems and activating a recharge cycle.

I smiled at that, grabbing my backpack and finding myself a nice spot to lie down and get my own sleep. If you looked at the little things, Cade wasn't really as mean as he let on.

As I settled down to rest, worry and sadness started to consume me when I made a realization...

It would only be a short while longer before we hit the climax of the story...

And one way or the other, when the battle with the autobots began on the way to Mission City, there was a very real possibility that Barricade was going to die.

I cringed at that. He wasn't present in the second movie, so Cade's fate in the highway fight was a big blank.

_Primus please... give him the strength to survive. Don't let him die._

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so what did you guys think? Please tell me in a review.<strong>

**I have a special request to ask of you readers, I'd like you guys to describe how you see Ash. Any celebrity lookalikes that you might suggest?**

**I actually tried drawing both her and Barricade's holoform, and I'm pretty satisfied with their looks. If I get enough responses to my request, at least five hopefully :), I'll post the links to the drawings in the next chapter.**

**I actually asked this before, but not very many responded. Someone suggested Leighton Meester, and I think there are similarities to how I picture Ash, but she's not quite it either.**

**Anyway, more reviews make me update faster. So, if you want speedier chapters, you know what to do. :D**

**Till the next chappie,**

**Moonstone**


	8. Chapter 8: Movie Mojo No More

**A/N: Phew, sorry for the long wait. It looks like my chapters keep getting longer with each post. :D Is that a good thing or a bad thing for you guys? Anyway, the action begins here, and I don't want to delay any longer.**

**ENJOY! :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Word count (excluding ANs): 4,980 words**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8: Movie Mojo No More<strong>

* * *

><p>Barricade's systems slowly began to online, his optics gradually returning to their normal ruby glow. As he regained consciousness and his recharge cycle ended, he did a quick systems check. His internal chronological systems told him that his reprieve had been brief.<p>

_Forty two point three-five earth minutes._

It would have to do for now. Something had caused him to online before he recovered a more suitable amount of energy- and whatever was causing the anxious stirring in his spark could _not _be good.

The dice was rolling, and an oncoming battle was imminent.

On impulse, he held up one servo and activated one of his hidden blades, inspecting several crude scratches and nicks that marred the Cybertronian alloy with a critical eye. _This_ particular blade had gotten him through numerous Decepticon-Autobot clashes. It would get him through the next as well- or so he believed.

Finishing his inspection, he finally noticed the balled up figure of his human charge curled up close to his hip. She was lucky he had not made any sudden movements, otherwise she could have easily been crushed.

The tiny human was desperately squeezing her rucksack, a shudder running up her spine every few kliks. It would have seemed that she had been trying to seek warmth from the natural heat that radiated from the functions of his internal systems. However, that thought seemed irrational with the wince that marred her face with every shudder and the fact that the temperature in the warehouse was actually _quite _warm. He assumed the girl may have been dreaming, or perhaps she could also feel the same strange anomaly that had woken him.

He observed her silently, his vision flickering for a moment before refocusing. What made this human different?

She had dark brown, almost black tresses that were currently _unruly_ and tangled. If she opened her eyes, they would have revealed the most typical shade of deep brown. She had a pale complexion and was of an average height with a lean build bordering on underweight. The loose clothing that she was wearing only made her slight stature seem even _more_ fragile and insignificant.

Barricade shook his head, ending his rumination. He knew he had to get back on patrol. It was time to wake her. There was no telling _when_ he would be called to battle, and he _did not_ want to be caught neglecting his duties. Leaning down, he reached out a leather gloved hand to shake her.

He froze. It took a nanoklik before he realized that he had unwittingly activated a his holoform. It surprised him for a moment- especially when the girl started stirring, as though she could sense his sudden proximity.

His human projection quickly dissipated and his consciousness was sharply thrown back into his mechanical form just as the femme cracked open her eyes. The Decepticon got onto his pedes quickly but carefully, stepping away from her as she stretched out like a feline and yawned. He glared at her as he watched.

As much as he detested it, he would never admit that she made him act differently. It annoyed and frustrated him to no end. His previous thoughts and uncharacteristically sporadic activation of his holoform only proved it. His thoughts simmered as he waited for her to get up.

* * *

><p>A strange feeling made me unwillingly wake up. I sat up slowly, feeling <em>all sorts<em> of sore from sleeping on the hard concrete floor. I felt my neck crick as I got up. The short nap didn't really help as much as I'd hoped. _Fudge_, I _still_ felt _really _drained.

I pulled one knee to my chest, leaving my injured foot stretched out. Folding my arms on my knee as a makeshift pillow, I dropped my head on top. I just wanted to grab a few more minutes of rest.

"Get up, femme." I heard Barricade say heatedly.

_'What's got **his** wires in a knot? We just woke up and he's **already** fudging mad at me.' _

Was this _really_ how he wanted to start this next leg of the journey? I cracked one eye open and turned my head just enough to see him glaring at me. I had to chuckle at that, making his glare turn even more intense.

_'Cheeseballs. This mech **really** has some anger management issues.'_

"Get a good recharge?" I asked in a chipper tone, yawning and rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I heard him growl, but when my vision refocused on his faceplates, I saw him nod his helm stiffly if not reluctantly. I grinned.

"Now hurry up and let's get going, _fleshie_." He prodded roughly, transforming into his alt mode.

Yup, someone _definitely_ got up on the wrong side of the recharge berth.

Something about his tone was strange to me, though. It wasn't just grouchy, there was something else there. That _something_ sobered my usual sarcastic happy. Barricade was wound up _and_ on edge, and I knew that it wouldn't do us any good if we argued because I was being snarky with him. So I bit back the rest of my jokes and gave him a nod.

I knew we had to get going, but...

It was _pretty_ hard trying to get up off of my butt with one ankle in a splint.

_Oh Barricade... _I mentally sang, giving the tinted windows of the police cruiser an pointed look. This was a familiar situation.

"If you want us to get going, you _kinda_ have to help me up Cade." I said simply, holding up my hands expectantly. I held back my laugh when he let out a half impatient, half annoyed huff slash rev, grumbling about how he was stuck with a sparkling. It was always funny and surprising to see that even rough and tough decepticons like Barricade could act so _human_ at times- but now wasn't really the ideal time to be thinking about funny-

"_Fudgecakes_!"

I gasped, jumping slightly when his holoform suddenly materialized right in front of me. I don't think I'd _ever_ get used to that. He leant down, using one hand to grab my arm, and the other to grab my backpack. He smirked at my reaction before pulling me up in one swift movement. Oh how he just _loved_ trying to scare the chiz out of me.

I was back on my feet, but before I could get properly balanced, Cade shoved the backpack in my arms, making me grab his shoulder for support. He rolled his eyes, brushing off my hand, but keeping a firm grip on my arm to make sure that I didn't topple over. He picked up my crutches, handing them to me before huffing again out of aggravation.

Yup, it was _still_ funny, and... _dare_ I admit it?... _cute_ when he huffed.

"You'd better _learn_ to do stuff on your own, femme. Otherwise, you _won't_ last long in this war." He grouched.

I outwardly scowled at his gruff tone, though inside, I knew that this was probably as nice as Barricade could get.

_At least he tried_, even if he probably did so reluctantly or out of his devotion to his "code of honor" because I saved his life. I was still grateful to him.

_Suuure Cade... Whatever you say._

The tension was starting to build again after a few minutes with him being so serious, and I definitely did not want that. To try and avoid a sour situation, I tried to lighten the mood and get a conversation starting.

"So, Barricade... you blew up Daniel's dad's cruiser?" I asked, remembering what the nurse had told me. _Hopefully _that would work-

And thank Primus it did after a few seconds.

There was a smirk in his tone when he replied, visibly easing up some. He was smug, thinking that this could be his chance to revel more in his strength than wallow in what he thought were signs of weakness.

"You should have seen the flames..."

* * *

><p>A red and blue Peterbilt Semi, a black GMC topkick, a bright green rescue hummer, and a small silver Pontiac sped one after the other down the long desert road. Any onlooker would have considered the line-up of vehicles a strange combination indeed.<p>

The Autobots were going as fast as their wheels could take them to Hoover Dam. As they drove, there was a tense silence going through their communication links.

Ratchet seemed even more tense than the others.

From millennia of experience working with his team, Optimus easily picked up on the chief medical officer's unease.

**::You seem troubled::** The Prime stated simply through his comm link.

Silence reigned for a few more moments before Ratchet commed his response, turning the private link into a conference so the others could also hear him out.

**::I am simply... concerned. There was a spike in allspark energy closer to our previous location. Just before we made planetfall::**

**::Yeah::** Jazz interjected. **::Ah picked tha' up on mah scanners too. Ah thought it wuz ah fluke at firs'. Looks like ah wuzn't th' only one.::**

There was another pause as they waited for Ratchet to continue. All of them could sense how his unease had doubled with the lieutenant's confirmation that it was not a simple misreading on his scanners.

**::I honestly did not think the cube would be so far from where we first made contact.::** he admitted.

**::You think the humans could have been relocating it?::** The Prime considered the possibility. **::It would not be likely that they would risk moving it. Not when the Decepticons attacked them not too long ago.::**

**::They could've tried broadcasting a synthetic signal::** Ironhide put in. **::Slagging 'Cons think they can easily distract us::** He spat in disdain.

**::I considered that as well. And that seemed more plausible during our departure. Which is why I did not mention this before that time:: **Ratchet conceded.

**::The problem ain't the 'Cons tryin ta distract us, 'Hide.::** It seemed that Jazz knew what Ratchet was getting at. **::It wuz a real quick flash, not long enough ta be th' actual cube.::**

**::Concealing the energy is not something the humans can do easily. The broadcast was much too brief.::** Ratchet explained. **:: They couldn't have moved it without the signal being detectable to _every_ cybertronian on this continent and to _all_ who were searching for it. This _Hoover Dam_, must be the human's special holding facility for the allspark. Which could explain why our scanners can't seem to track it or pick up any signals for that matter.::**

**::But then the _flash_...::** Ironhide prodded the doctor, quite lost in trying to see the importance of it all.

**::A synthetic signal, no matter how well fabricated, _can_ be distinguished as false with close enough scrutiny:: **The medical officer explained.

**::The energy signal was genuine::** Optimus stated more than guessed.

**::Yes.::** Ratchet said solemnly. **::Though there was something different about it. We will need to investigate the source... _Soon_. I have a strange feeling that it may be-::** His explanation was cut off abruptly when several military vehicles zoomed past them, a bright yellow Camaro at the end of the caravan.

Bumblebee.

Tires screeched and rubber burned as the team of Autobots quickly did an about face and moved to create a defensive formation around their comrade. A small sense of relief washed over their sparks with the scout's return, and the confirmation that he was relatively unharmed. It seemed the humans were on _their _side now.

However it was almost immediately replaced my an _immense_ tension when they detected the unmistakeable energy signal of the Allspark located within the Camaro's interior. That strain was only multiplied tenfold when Bumblebee sent his leader and fellow Autobots a databurst of the information he had gathered from Hoover Dam along with the plan to take the cube to Mission City. The situation was dire, it seemed, because Megatron was on their trail.

_Megatron._

The Decepticon war lord was back.

_Slag._

* * *

><p>The human and I had only been out on patrol for just over half an earth hour. The insistent femme constantly prodded me with her babbling and questions and I could only indulge her so that she wouldn't throw some kind of tantrum. It was <em>my<em> turn to be asking the questions this time. It was only fair.

"_My turn_, fleshie." I cut her off.

She paused, halting her current inquiry regarding my choice of weapons for a nanoklik.

"Oh... Yeah- sure!" She stuttered before the corners of her mouth twitched upward. "Shoot."

She was lucky that I had spent three years on this rock to understand enough human slang. Otherwise, I would have been tempted to take up that offer.

"Femme, you definitely seem to show no fear of the decepticons. What brought that about?"

She laughed, putting a hand on the emblem that now hung from her neck by a black string instead of the damaged silver chain. "Well... it's not exactly that I'm not afraid. Scalpel _fudging_ freaks me out! Starscream is intimidating, though sometimes that mech's got a helm too big for his own good."

She chuckled once more, before directing her gaze to my own dark steel emblem on the dashboard as though she knew I could "see" her from that point. "When something scares the chiz out of you, and fear is something that threatens to take over, you don't really think about it- do you, Cade?" She raised an eyebrow. "I'd rather laugh my head off than drown in fear when there's not much I can do about it."

"Heh. You really are a strange human."

"Well, that's something I can't deny now, is it?" She replied with a large grin, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Soundwave must have been glitching when he chose you as an informant. I still don't see _what_ he found that was worthy in you to induct you into our ranks." Though that was not true, I had seen enough- but there was something that I had yet to be sure of.

"Well, isn't loyalty enough for you? I stuck with you, didn't I?" She asked, slightly confused. She had believed that we had established the answer to that question earlier before.

"Hmmm... Yes." I dragged out the words. "Then Soundwave isn't the one with the bug in his processor. You, _Satriano_, are a femme with a _serious_ glitch."

"Hey! I already agreed that I'm strange, No need to rub it in my face..." She replied flippantly, still not fully realizing what I had said. "You- wait..." She stopped her processor for a moment and went silent.

"You... _You_." She drew out the word.

"Yes, femme, I have established that you are addressing me."

"You know my name." She did not act now. She couldn't.

Her previous lies and stories had rolled so easily from her vocal processors, but now that she'd been caught, she could not lie.

"You were _careless_, fleshie." I allowed the lock on my alt mode's glove compartment to click open.

"That is one more thing you must _learn_. Do not let things that you don't want to be found, _be_ found."

She reached over and took the white synthetic polymer rectangle by the strap that was attached to it.

_HAHNELTON UNIVERSITY  
>School of the Arts<br>Department of Design_

_Satriano, Aislinn Cerra T._

"How long did you know?" She asked softly, looking down at her own face on the identification card.

"Does it matter, fleshie? It was easy enough to hack your school's online records, even if I am not as skilled a hacker as that half-byte, Frenzy. What I wonder is why you even bothered trying to change your name. I cannot find any record of you whatsoever-"

I had to stop when I suddenly received the call to battle just as Frenzy's energy signal registered on my scanners once more.

**::Allspark located:: **The hyperactive mech's voice chattered through the Decepticon comm server.

Just as the femme had predicted, the little half-byte contacted us and sent a databurst with the coordinates of the location of the Allspark.

Starscream immediately took control of the situation and mobilized our ranks, giving orders to track the allspark signal. Bonecrusher, Brawl, and I were to attempt to intercept the human's military convoy before they reached Mission City. Slow them down until Frenzy could find a way to release Lord Megatron from his cryal prison.

"Cade?" She was confused by my sudden break in dialogue.

**::En route:: **I ignored her for the time being, and made the necessary adjustments to my course to intersect with the highway to the city.

My comm link beeped, signalling that somebody was trying to establish a private connection. It was Starscream.

**:: How fares our little human informant?:: **The seeker crooned.

**::She is functional:: **I replied shortly. I _did not_ like how that fragging Starscream implied that **_we_**_ shared_ ownership over the petty human, and my disdain managed to bleed into my tone.

_I _was the one stuck with her.

_I _was the one who had to _deal_ with her and her antics.

**_Not_** _him_.

I nearly growled, but held back the feral sound. Lord Megatron was to be returned to us, I thought smugly. I would not have to deal with Starscream's egotistical personality chips for much longer.

_Naturally_, his helm being _so_ filled with air from the small victory of locating the allspark, he could not sense my annoyance and impatience with his... _ranting_. From the sound of rushing air in the background, I could safely assume that he had been making his own rounds up in the sky. He probably adjusted his trajectory for the human's allspark holding facility.

_Of course._

Lord Megatron _would not_ be pleased if his second-in-command was absent upon his return.

**::Let me speak to the fleshling:: **The seeker ordered, demanding that I stream his next comms through my alt form's radio speaker system. I grudgingly consented.

**:: Greetings, _human_.:: **

The tiny femme flinched when she heard Starscream's scratchy vocals echo through my cab. Her fear was endlessly _amusing._

"Uhhhh... _Starscream?_" She questioned, wondering _why_ in the world the second-in-command was addressing _her_.

**:: Show your respect, _human_.::** He hissed,** ::Or I will make sure Barricade will make your tenure in our service as... _unbearable_ as possible:: **His smirk almost audible in his vocal patterns.

"Of course", the femme cringed at his threatening tone, but she did not seem as fearful as she should have been, "Forgive my slip of the tongue, Starscream, _sir_."

_Entertaining, human._

Ever trying to play the compliant servant for Starscream when she _obviously_ did not think him above herself. It was apparent in the sarcastic smile she sent, throwing her gaze at the dark metal of the Decepticon insignia on my driver's side dashboard as though she knew I could "see" her from that point.

**::Very well, _girl. _After all, it seems that you _have_ proven your worth. You will get to live another day::**

"Thank you, Starscream, sir." She replied unsurely, knowing that any praise from the sly seeker should never be taken so easily lightly. Her mischievous grin slipped right off of her face.

_Smart femme. _There were always implications.

**:: Keep her secure Barricade. We wouldn't want her _information_ getting into the wrong hands now, _do we_?:: **He instructed through the speaker system. He directed the last two words at the human, letting her know that he had his optics set on her now.

With the realization of the validity of her knowledge, came limitations. She was a valued asset to the decepticons now- that was not necessarily a good thing. And she knew it.

**::Of course. She will not leave my sight.::**

Starscream broke off the connection after that.

"Prepare yourself, femme. We're going into battle." I said, grinning internally, eager for the next confrontation between us and the _autoscum._

My systems began to function faster, spark pulsing at a quicker pace from the prospect of combat. I was _exhilarated._

_Autobots, foul autobots. Let our battle commence once more, and let it all end here._

Despite my own excitement, the femme's aura was dampening my mood.

Her posture was different now. Before Starscream had spoken with her, she had seemed slightly worried about one thing or another, but nonetheless, she had still been animated if not relaxed with the banter between us.

Now, she had curled herself around her rucksack, arms squeezing the bag as though she were trying in vain to crush her fears into oblivion.

I thought that she would stay silent for the entire journey, but then after a few kliks, her quiet voice cut through the silence.

"We're going to Mission City now, aren't we?" She said softly but surely. Her tone was unlike any that she had previously used. No matter the gravity of earlier situations, she would confront fear, danger, and anger with snarky sarcasm, laughter, and her signature half-bit grin. But now, she was genuinely concerned... _afraid._

I then realized that she had mentioned the name of our destination. Neither Starscream nor I had _ever_ vocalized it, and the coordinates for Mission City had only been shared via databurst.

* * *

><p>"You know <em>much<em> more than you _should_, _femme_." Barricade said simply.

_Yeah. You don't even know the half of it. _I smiled humorlessly to myself. I was definitely in _deep_ fudge right now.

"You're grinning. Do I even want to know _why_?" Cade's low voice streamed through the speakers, in a tone that made me want to believe that he was worried about his wellbeing.

Well, he had every right to be. Me grinning like an idiot during the _most inappropriate _of times was _never_ a good sign.

My grin faded, and the weight of the situation was dawning more heavily on me. As everything outside blurred past us as we sped by, I knew I was running out of time. I had to take my pick.

I could _save_ Barricade. If I convinced him to turn around, or incapacitated him somehow so he wouldn't make it to the battle- he would definitely live to see another day.

_But then..._

When I thought about it, he hadn't even killed a single human throughout the course of the _entire_ first movie. True, he had harassed both Sam and Mikaela, but no one actually _died._ Cade had disappeared from the highway on the way to Mission City, and hadn't arrived at all during the actual fight.

I could let him keep going, and he'd most likely be offlined on that highway trying to slow down Optimus. Then the world would be threatened by one less decepticon. But was it worth sacrificing everything I'd already done for Barricade?

I hadn't noticed, but my hands were shaking. My entire body had been trembling and my head was starting to throb.

"Femme..."

**::Whass'at suppos' to be_, Barricade? _A _pet_?:: **A different voice echoed through the cab, one that I didn't recognize. I shivered from the sheer hate that bled into those two short last words. This mech must have had a _severe_ disliking for humans.

**::_Bonecrusher._:: **Cade growled back threateningly.

These two obviously _did not _like each other.

Wait...

_Bonecrusher? _I turned to look out of the window. There, speeding next to us was a military Buffalo mine-clearing vehicle. It's yellow paint was chipping, and it's claw-like attachment was gleaming ominously in the sunlight.

_Fudge... _I was almost out of time.

**::Humans ain't worth spit. Figures you'da keep somethin as worthless as y'self::**

The tension was building between the two. It almost felt like they were going to go at each other any second-

**::Oooh, you two gonna talk, or are we gonna _blow_ up some auto_scum_?:: **Another voice cut in.

**::_STAY OUTTA THIS, BRAWL!:: _**Bonecrusher roared at the second voice.

_Brawl?! _Oh cheese! My head snapped immediately to look at the opposite window. An M1 Abrams Tank was now cruising to our rear left side.

I was starting to feel _really_ sick. _Both_ of them were here _already_?

"Barricade! You have to turn around! We have get off of this highway!" I said frantically, hyperventilating as I yelled at the dashboard from my place in the back seat.

I made my decision.

Barricade did a lot for me, I wasn't going to stand by just let things happen.

I heard Bonecrusher laugh cynically in the background. **::Yes, run 'way like th' coward y' are!::**

Barricade growled menacingly. He was about to say something nasty, but then-

**::_Whoah_! What's a _human_ doing in your cab?:: **Brawl cut in, surprised. **::_Toss it out_, or it's gonna slow us down-::**

**:: _No, you half-byte_!:: **Barricade snarled, enraged that the tank would try to _order **him** _around, **::she is-::**

"Cade,youhavetolistentome!" My words blended together in my panic. My pulse was beginning to throb in my head.

"_What_ are you going about, _femme_?!" Barricade didn't like _anybody_ cutting him off. What's more is I only managed to piss him off by suggesting that we run. "A _decepticon soldier_ doesn-"

I stood up between the two front seats, leaning forward to try and drive my point home. I had to grab hold of both headrests to steady myself. In the distance I could see the bright yellow glint of Bumblebee's Camaro vehicle mode.

_NO! Shit! Nonono! NOT YET!_

"If you keep going you're-"

**::Listen to th' fleshbag! It'll leave more for me!:: **Bonecrusher said with glee, sighting the line of Autobots. **:Now, OUTTA TH' WAY, SLAG FOR BRAINS! I've got bots t' _BURN_!:**

I saw Bonecrusher's large metal claw sweep in our direction, making Barricade veer sharply to the side of the road to avoid it, and causing me to hit my head on the left side window. The large yellow military vehicle continued its road rampage down the highway, speeding up and pushing more cars out of the way.

Despite my swimming vision, I noticed Brawl taking a different turn, speeding out of sight along a different route to the city.

Further along the road, I recognized the blue and red semi as it began to slow down, bringing it to the back of the line of autobots.

Bonecrusher transformed then, skating and roaring like demon down the road, _flipping_ cars over this time to get a clear path to his target. My eyes widened, seeing all the cars tumbling and bouncing across the concrete toward us- some of them bursting into flames. I couldn't even _scream_.

I could hear Barricade's voice somewhere in the background, ordering me to sit down and brace myself, but I couldn't react. Time seemed to slow down and the world moved like molasses around me. I couldn't think properly.

I couldn't think about how Barricade and I would probably end up dying.

I couldn't think about how I would probably burn, or get crushed.

I couldn't think about how I would probably never see my family again, or how they might never see me or find out whatever happened to me.

I couldn't think about all the screams that echoed around me. People _burned_ alive and...

I didn't want to think about it all. So I just stopped.

My mind went blank, my knees buckled, and I _stopped thinking_. Fear and regret ran wild through my veins and instinct made me wrap my arms around the back of the driver's seat in a vice grip. I shut my eyes, darkness offering little comfort as I shook violently.

Every jerk of the cruiser made me cringe and hit my head, shoulder, or my ribs multiple times on the edge of the seat or the side of the interior.

Every crash and boom made me clutch tighter, nails _digging_ into the leather upholstery. I heard Barricade growl out his displeasure, trying to order me to stop trying to claw my way into his inner circuits so he could concentrate on dodging those deadly metal wrecks. I didn't care, and I was pretty sure that I couldn't let go, even if I wanted to.

A deafening, _inhuman_ roar made me _snap_ my eyes open to see Optimus Prime himself transform and tackle Bonecrusher over the edge, the two behemoths falling to the second highway below. They wrestled and tackled one another, fighting for the upperhand.

This was it.

Optimus brutally turning the tables on Bonecrusher, was where my future mojo ended. I didn't know exactly what happened after this point at this particular location of the movie. There were several licensed publishers and companies that gave their own "official" versions, and loads of possibilities that were suggested by fans. There was no telling _exactly_ what turn Barricade's journey would take.

I was about to find out the answer though...

I saw Ironhide pull off a partial transformation to expose one of his _ginormous_ cannons to aim at us.

Barricade swerved several times with each shot fired before growling in frustration and turning... turning...

"BARRICADE!" _That_ was where I started screaming as the police cruiser _flew _off of the side of the highway.

I could feel my body lift off of the floor for what felt like an eternity of floating in a state of zero gravity when Cade's alt-mode tilted downward.

Downward toward where Optimus Prime himself tearing Bonecrusher apart.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So now it begins. Barricade's fate will be determined in the next chapter. Live, or die? ****I guess the answer is pretty obvious, the real question is how or maybe why?**

**PLEASE READ! VERY IMPORTANT!**

**I really want to know if you guys are ok with my style of writing? I just noticed how I don't put names to indicate the change in POVs, is that confusing to you guys? Because my belief is that a good writer should be able to show the shift easily without stating it obviously. Have I been able to do that?**

**Okay, I've said my piece. Thanks sooo much for reading! So please review!**

**I'd love to know what you guys think. Any form of comment is fine, even if it's just a smiley face. :D Suggestions are very welcome too!**

**Flames... hmmm... What do you think Cade?**

**::I thought you were resilient to those things, kid.::**

**Yeah, I guess I am. :D**

**::Then give the fleshie what she wants, humans!::**

**HEY! Barricade! Just becau-**

**::Throw the femme your best shot! She won't care!::**

** Ugh... Oh well. I guess any flames will be used to warm my feet because the storms here are still going on. And it's _friggin _cold!**

**Till the next chappie,**

**Moonstone**

**...**

**wait... WAIT! I almost forgot. Here are the links to some art I made for this story. Enjoy! :D**

**GAH! I'm having a bit of trouble putting links sooo...**

**... just search the keywords "transformers ash satriano" on deviantart. That should do the trick :D**


	9. Chapter 9: The Battle

**A/N: Hell week at school. It's like it's never going to end, and the only comfort I have is my stories... *sniff* So sorry guys for the delay, but better late than never, right?**

**Next chapter, yay! I'm not really well versed in writing action sequences, so I hope it's ok. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Word count (excluding ANs): 2, 190 words**

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><p><strong>Chapter 9: The Battle<strong>

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><p>The surreal moment of antigravity ended with a painful crash- at least for Ash. The heavy impact yanked her hold from the seat in front of her and violently jerked her head back- making her see stars.<p>

"Hold on to your pack, femme!" Barricade yelled the order, as he barrelled toward a tilted slab of concrete. "Keep it in front of you!"

The authority in his tone made her immediately act despite her daze. She snatched her bag by the straps and held it tightly in front of her torso, shielding part of her face as well.

"_Don't_ let go!" The decepticon's final command mingled with the unmistakable sounds of transformation.

Parts shifted all around her, and before Aislinn knew it, she had been ejected from the bottom of the partially transformed police cruiser as it used the wrecked segment of road as a sort of launch ramp.

The speed of her release made her roll a good distance from where she had been originally dropped, grit and pieces of debris digging into her legs and back. Her school bag protected her from the brunt of the fall though, shielding her head and face from the tumble.

She lay on the ground breathing heavily, stunned and feeling extremely disoriented. Her stomach churned, and the blood in her veins felt like it was beginning to bubble and boil. Clutching her abdomen, she could feel the bile rising in her throat. She doubled over and could not stop herself from hurling her meagre breakfast onto the side of the road.

_Oh God, why? _She cursed, absolutely _hating_ the taste in her mouth and the burning in her sore throat.

Black spots were dancing in her vision when she managed to turn her attention toward the two mechs who were facing off.

Barricade had managed to clip Optimus' side when he flew through the air, completing his transformation into his bi-pedal mode when he landed in a crouch. The decepticon hunter had his wheel blade activated, ready to throw. He looked feral with a grim yet almost excited looking grin on his faceplates.

Optimus, recovering from the collision, set his pedes firmly apart in a battle stance, ready to take on this next opponent, wrist blades glowing hotly, expression unreadable.

The two stood several yards apart for what seemed like an eternity of tension, both of them staring each other down.

"_Where is the human, Barricade_?" The Autobot leader asked in a deadly tone. His deep baritone echoed loudly around the block. However, the ominous warning in the regal Prime's tone did not phase his enemy.

Optimus could not see her from where he stood, she was hidden from his sight behind a mixed wreck of cars and concrete. The girl craned her neck from her spot, trying to get a better look at the situation. Brown eyes met ruby optics for a split-second, but no words were exchanged, lest the decepticon reveal her location, but the message he was trying to convey was clear.

_Stay. **Put**._

Ash wrapped her arms around herself, her head throbbing, heart pounding in her chest, and hands clenched together. She was scared for both Barricade _and_ Optimus. She didn't want either of them to get hurt- but she knew just how _impossible_ that was. There was nothing she could do but hope.

"I don't know what you're talking about, _autoscum_." The black and white mech spat, optics narrowing. Breaking the standstill, he thrust his arm forward, propelling his wheel blade in a powerful throw, the thick chain trailing behind it.

_Hope and pray._

Optimus quickly dodged the heavy projectile, making it crash and embed itself deep in the ground behind him instead of his chassis. Lunging forward, he let out a battle cry, his own blades leading the charge.

"Ratchet detected her bio signature. There is no lying decepticon!" Optimus bellowed, before slashing at Barricade's forearm.

The two engaged in an intricate exchange of blows and bitter words.

"Well your sorry excuse of a medic must be _glitching_, Prime." Quick punch to the helm. "You think a decepticon like me would _actually **tolerate**_ harboring _human filth_ in _my_ cab?"

"_Why_ indeed, Barricade?" The autobot mumbled more to himself. "Hand her over, and I will assure you leniency-" Block another punch to the helm.

"Hah! _Leniency_, Prime?" The decepticon scoffed and kicked out at hit his opponent's chassis. " Even _you_ know that your weapons specialist would gladly send me to the matrix rather than negotiate." Dodge to the right. Duck, downward, left.

That was Barricade's advantage. His agility. Being the smaller cybertronian, he easily outmanoeuvred the Prime- twisting away from his blows. For every hit that Optimus landed, the decepticon landed several. However, the red and blue autobot also had an advantage in his larger size, his punches and slashes more powerful.

Ash knew that despite the awesome display of skill and strength, there was something wrong here. Both bots were holding back.

Optimus was obviously hitting to damage, not kill.

But Barricade... What could he have been waiting for?

This was a game of endurance, she realized. What mattered was who could last longer or who landed the lucky shot. It was obvious that Barricade couldn't keep this up for too long.

Fortunately, or rather, _unfortunately_, depending on whose perspective it was- Optimus Prime landed that lucky shot.

A hard slash to Barricade's lower chassis. The same side where he had previously been injured.

"NO!" Ash let out a scream of denial, the sound masked by her decepticon warden's own roar of pain. Witnessing the blow made her unconsciously wrap an arm around her own side, as though she could feel the pain, just by witnessing its brutality.

The black and white mech tumbled to the ground on his knees. One servo on the sparking wound, and the other flat on the ground, keeping him from completely toppling over, faceplates first onto the asphalt.

He growled at the approaching autobot, his position making him resemble a bristling beast with the way that static almost seemed to crackle around him. The intensity of his glare never lessening despite his vulnerable position.

"The _location_ of the child, Decepticon." Optimus persisted as he stood tall over the wounded mech. The look in his optics as well as the blade he kept aimed at his opponent's helm left no room for compromise. "You have lost this battle."

At that moment, both mechs received similar messages from their comrades.

Barricade looked defiantly at the Prime, a triumphant smirk suddenly creeping onto his faceplates. "_Have I_?"

Tugging abruptly at the chain that was still wrapped around his knuckles, Barricade twisted deftly one last time around the autobot leader's pointed weapon, toward his back. Throughout the entire fight, the decepticon had stepped in a specific pattern to make a form of noose.

One whip of his servo caused the steel gray links to latch onto and coil around one of Optimus' arms and catch him by surprise. Barricade moved quickly, pulling as hard as he could, making his opponent stumble from the force. Once the line was taut, he kicked the Prime in the middle of his spinal strut to keep him off balance. The Con then activated his own wrist blade, plunging it deep into the concrete through one of the chain links, securing it to the ground.

The trap would not hold for long. The decepticon knew this and took his chance.

His job was done here.

Megatron was now free from his frozen state, moving fast toward the city and the boy with the Allspark.

* * *

><p>Optimus Prime could only watch as Barricade quickly made his way to a pile of rubble, roughly picking up a petrified looking human by her tiny waist. She looked injured and pale, one hand bruised and bloody, one foot in a cast, and her back and legs marred with bloody scratches. Transforming around the girl, the decepticon changed into his alt-mode before speeding away.<p>

"No!" The autobot leader roared in frustration. He strained against the chains, the links beginning to break.

For a moment, he could see the human look at him through the glass at the back of the police cruiser before the tint suddenly darkened.

His restraints finally broke. He was about to transform to chase after the cruiser, but an urgent comm from Ratchet stopped him.

**::Optimus! Megatron's signal is closing in fast on the city!-::**

The autobot leader clenched his servo into a tight fist.

**::-Where are you?!::**

Saving one human would _not_ be able to compensate for the entire human race if Megatron captured the Allspark.

_I am sorry, sparkling. _He lamented quietly to himself, the weight of failing the young girl weighing heavily on his processor.

_Primus, please keep her safe until we end this battle._

Optimus took note of the direction the police cruiser had taken and made a 360 degree turn before high tailing it for Mission City.

Hopefully she would hold out until they could search for her later.

* * *

><p>"Stop shaking, femme!"<p>

_Fragging fudge..._

_"I can't help it, Cade! I'm not a soldier!"_ I wailed_. "I practically saw Optimus almost rip your circuits out!" _I held my arms closely to my side at the thought of what happened. My body was shaking badly from a bit of an adrenaline rush of my worry- my heart rate wasn't slowing down yet either. I had to calm down, or I'd probably black out from the stress. Heck, I was already starting to feel dizzy. I kept my hands close to myself, trying to curl up to stop my shaking

Keeping one hand clenched tightly around my left, I did my best to keep my blood from dripping onto the upholstery. The acid burn on my hand had gotten skinned when I got ejected, and it burned like hell! Other than that, the cuts on my back and legs stung too. I couldn't really whine about that though- Barricade was in worse shape.

"_I_ am the one heavily injured, girl! Not you! So _stop_ being so frantic! You're even worse that half-byte Frenzy!"

He never had the proper time to recover from his first injury. We had to get somewhere safe.

We were driving on the outskirts of the city now. The road was almost deserted. We could find some place to hide. Maybe we could contact Scalpel once we did so he could do something about Cade's injuries.

God knows... The first time I tried to fix Barricade up, that was a fluke. It was a simple cut, and honestly- I didn't know chiz about real mechanics. If I tried to fix him again, I might just end up doing something really dangerous and stupid.

"Enough with your... ugh... muttering, femme. I'm trying to... concentrate..."

"Cade?" His voice seemed a bit-

"Mute it..." His voice trailed off.

_Not good._

"Barricade?!"

He didn't answer me, and the police cruiser began to veer toward one side of the road.

_Oh Primus_, did his systems force him into emergency stasis?

Panicking, I jumped up and reached for the steering wheel from my seat in the back, doing my best to keep us from crashing.

"Awww... Cheeeeeese! Wake UP, CADE!" I punched weakly at the dashboard, but there was still no response.

_Fudgeballs!_

Barricade's systems were still on escape mode, while his processor was probably shut down due to the forced recovery stasis. If it was, it would take a bit for him to reboot and take control again.

_Right._

_Left._

_Left!_

_Riiiight!_

Why the heck wasn't he slowing down?! There was no way I could keep this up. Especially from my position.

I hopped from the back, settling myself in the driver's seat, desperately trying to steer. There was a sharp curve up ahead, and if I didn't do anything, we'd crash straight into a solid concrete wall.

_Alright... Brakes... Brakes!_

I jammed one foot on the first pedal I felt.

"SLAAAAG!"

The mustang swerved dangerously and we were about to collide into the building.

I jerked the steering wheel as hard I could to the left.

Tires screeched and rubber burned. The cruiser drifted away from the hard wall, and I was just about to let out a breath of relief... but-

I lost control.

I screamed my head off as the black and white mustang skid too far to the side. I could feel the left side wheels start to lift off the ground, and I knew that we would most likely barrel roll.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

The world spun around me, and everything was a blurr.

_Oh God..._

I didn't even have my seatbelt on.

I shut my eyes, bright lights flashing in my vision, and my chest feeling tight and constricted as I braced myself and waited for the inevitable impact.

A thought suddenly occurred to me as time seemed to slow down. If I died here...

What would happen to my life back home?

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><p><strong>AN: So how was it? I need to know please. :D**

**Suggestions and reviews are very welcome, and I think I really need them right now. How do you guys think I can improve my writing skills? How's the plot speed going? Is it too slow? More reviews means I update faster. :)**

**Review Replies: (I send personal responses to reviews, unless you're anonymous, then I'll put my response here) Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and subscribed to this story! you make my heart suuuper happy! (LOL, my little sister watches too much NiHao Kailan on nickelodeon. XD)**

**Guest: Thanks so much for taking the time to give me such a long review. Yeah, I thought the cons deserve a chance to tell their story too. :D I'm so glad you think that Ash is cool. Reviews like yours really bolster my confidence in writing. So again, thank you! You've made me really happy. I hope to hear more feedback from you in the future. :)**


	10. Chapter 10: Hemawhatogy?

**A/N: I just wanted to get this chapter out after a while not updating. Not my best, I think- but I'm having a couple problems right now, and I didn't want to leave you guys hanging.. _too badly... XD_**

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><p>Word count (excluding ANs): 3,625

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><p><strong>Chapter 10: Hema-whatogy?<strong>

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><p>There were few people left at the site of the battle now. Tom Banacheck, leading several teams of Sector Seven agents, dealt with the security issues. They secured a perimeter around the affected area of Mission City, making sure that no other civilians got in or out. They rounded up all the witnesses and debriefed them so that the battle between the autobots and decepticons would remain a secret.<p>

No one outside of the organization was sure what they had offered. Threat or incentive, whatever it was, whoever left the debriefing facilities claimed that they knew nothing about any "ridiculous" or "nonexistent" robot aliens.

In the middle of the destruction stood Optimus Prime, his form slightly hunched with grief and exhaustion. The autobot leader gently lay Jazz's silver frame on the bed of the vehicle in front of him.

"Till all are one, my friend." The Prime muttered the Cybertronian farewell softly, lowering his helm, and placing a hand on his lieutenant's sparkless chassis in a sign of respect and mourning. Unlike the rest of the robot remains that were being dumped into a different truck, the autobot leader made sure that Jazz would be treated better. Optimus and his team decided that they would repair the Pontiac's frame and find a way to honor him for his ultimate sacrifice.

Meanwhile, Captain William Lennox and his men meandered around the wreckage, assisting with cleanup and aiding any other injured stragglers.

The Autobots would have also _gladly_ helped with the work, however, security matters and the risk of mass panic were a real issue. They were to be transferred and stationed in a secured temporary facility where they could further tend to their own injuries in private while the government made their decisions about what would come next.

"Come on! Come on! Let's get movin' here!" Agent Simmons waved, gesturing to a large truck that would take the mechs to the location. A bit of the shock of an alien war erupting in the middle of the unsuspecting city was beginning to wear off, and people _(especially **nosey** and **curious** people with their cameras and cellphones-_ Seymour _hated_ those the most) would be trying to find ways to get back into the city soon. They didn't have much time to linger.

Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes, who were seated next to Bumblebee within the truck's large cargo hold, heard the demeaning tone in the agent's comment and glared at him.

"_What_?" Simmons questioned, "We gotta get goin' if we don't want any more people to see these robots and start _panicking_!" The looks did not stop, and the man could only throw his hands up in defeat, his expression incredulous. "Looks like nobody really cares about national security but me. _Sheesh_..."

After several more moments of silence, Optimus straightened and approached the disgruntled Sector 7 agent.

"I apologize for the delay Agent Simmons, but I'm afraid our job is not done yet."

"_What?_" The man looked around him and pointed at the truck being loaded with Decepticon remains, slightly confused. A crane was just putting in Megatron's limp frame. "Lookin' at that, I'd have to disagree with you. But are there any other threats we should be worrying about right now, _huh Big Guy_?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms with a sceptical look on his face. The two teenagers still couldn't help but gape at Simmon's rude attitude, even towards the autobot leader.

"No, no _immediate_ threats." Optimus assured, ignoring the agent's constant cheekiness, "Megatron's offlining ensured that you will not have to deal with any major decepticon problems for a considerable amount of time. However, there is another issue we must address. Ratchet." The Prime nodded toward the approaching neon green mech.

"When we were en route to the city, a black and white mech designated Barricade-" The CMO was cut off before he could explain.

"Whoah- Waitwaitwait _waiiiiit_ a minute!" Sam stepped out of the back of the truck's hold, looking at the neon green bot. "Are you talking about that _crazy_ police car that tried to _kill_ me?!" His pitch seemed to have gone up an octave at the news, and he seemed frantic. "I thought you blasted him, _Ironhide_!" His voice cracked at the last word.

"I wish I did..." The weapons' specialist let out an upset growl, his cannons activating at the thought. The large metal rims spun as the inside of the barrel glowed. "_Slagging_ Con dodged my shots. I would have dished out some more, but the Hatchet wouldn't let me." Ironhide received a wrench to the helm for his comment.

"_And for **good** reason_!" Ratchet yelled, his temper flaring, he hit the black bot again- _**hard**_. "I detected a _**young human's** biological signature_ within his cab!"

"_What?_! Are you sure about that Ratchet?" Mikaela gasped, joining in the discussion.

"Yeah, we're not even sure if this "_human-in-distress_" really is there." Simmons said, making air quotes with his fingers. "They could've used a fake signal or somethin'..." He scratched his chin, "Could be a trap."

"I confronted Barricade on the highway. He denied the presence of any human in his possession. However, I confirmed a young femme's existence after I injured him. He managed to escape with her. We need to track them down."

"Ahem..._no offense_," Simmons gestured to their damages, "-but I don't think you guys are ready to try your luck with that just yet. _Especially_ if there are more of them hiding out there."

Everybody seemed to ignore the agent's last comment, still firmly set about going after Barricade and staging a search and rescue mission.

"Denial, huh? That must mean that whoever the kid is, she means somethin' to those decepticreeps..." Ironhide mused out loud.

"But what would they want with another human? The battle's _over_. " Mikaela wondered.

"Indeed." Prime nodded. "Especially by my estimations, I would have to say she was younger than you, Mikaela."

The brunette's eyes widened in response, her curiosity and horror at the situation spiking. She knew that she and Sam were already considered _outrageously_ young to be involved with something like this- both of them being just seventeen years old. When everything started, Sam's reason was laughably ridiculous at first.

Aliens going after him for a pair of antique glasses he was selling on _E-bay_? _Absolutely** absurd.**_

The evil Decepticons had gone after them because of what he knew about the glasses that had the location of the cube. They'd gone after _her_ because she was involved with Sam. But now... with the allspark gone...

"So? We gonna send out a search party, or what?" Everyone turned to sergeant Epps who had been listening quietly throughout the conversation.

Optimus inclined his head, "Barricade couldn't have gotten far with his injuries."

"He would have tried to find somewhere to rest. Otherwise, he would risk going into an emergency stasis lock." Ratchet agreed.

"Yo Lennox!" Epps jogged over to his friend to explain the situation and get a team ready for the search.

"Okay then!" Simmons clapped his hands together somewhat over-enthusiastically. He didn't like how he had gotten ejected from the action. "How're we gonna do this?"

Everyone couldn't help but give him an exasperated look.

* * *

><p><strong>You guys seen anything yet?/** Epps said into his radio. The messages were being relayed on an open channel so that everyone on the search and rescue party could hear each other.

The three remaining autobots had split into three teams, just in case Barricade had met up with any other 'Cons. They took three humans each- two they knew, and one Sector 7 assigned medic. The tech sergeant was currently riding in Ratchet's cab with Mikaela as his plus one. The fourth team was composed of a team of soldiers involved in the battle, along with Banacheck and his red-headed kid charge.

They assumed that the trauma of being with a decepticon would have most likely made the girl they were looking for skittish and scared. Therefore, they thought that bringing at least one person who was either non-threatening or closer to the missing girl's age would be prudent.

**/Nah... Nothing yet./** Captain Lennox replied. He on the other hand was with Ironhide and Simmons. Yup, Simmons insisted- though that might have not been the wisest of decisions.

**/Same here./** Sam radioed in. He, Optimus and their S-7 medic kept a sharp eye out for anything that seemed out of the ordinary.

"You sure he came this way, Optimus?" The young boy questioned.

"Positive-"

**::Prime, get your aft three miles west of your current location! I think we found the kid.::**

**:: En route. And Ironhide-::**

**::Just one p-::**

**::_No_, Ironhide:: **Optimus cut him off firmly, knowing the gruff mech well enough to know what he was trying to say.

**/Hey, you guys better tell the docbot to high tail it here too./** Simmons voice crackled over the radio waves. **/I think he needs to see this.../**

Coolant ran through the autobot leader's lines, making his systems run cold. What could they have done to the child? Were they too late? Should he have taken his chances and tried to stop Barricade before he had gotten away?

* * *

><p>By the time Optimus arrived at the coordinates of the location sent to him, he had been the last to get there. The S-7 medical personnel had the girl on a gurney and Ratchet knelt close to them, hunched over as one of the medics lifted the female's bruised and bleeding hand up for the CMO's closer inspection. The medical officer's optics glowed with lines of light, as he performed a scan.<p>

The autobot leader would have rushed to Ratchet's side, but he had known the doctor long enough to be well aware that that was not the _best_ of ideas when the CMO was working. The Prime would have to wait before he inquired about the status of the girl's condition.

The rest of the humans also knew to keep their distance. Lennox and Epps, along with their comrades, set up a watch around the area. Simmons and Banacheck were contacting their superiors about the current situation and requested that human medical equipment be ready at the temporary NBE facility.

Sam had jumped out of Optimus's cab the moment the semi had stopped and the young boy had quickly approached Mikaela to inquire about the situation. He was now doing his best to assure her that everything would turn out okay in the end.

Ironhide on the other hand, despite the seriousness of the situation, looked somewhat smug as he stood guard by a damaged police cruiser. Cannons charged and ready in case the Decepticon suddenly came to.

Barricade.

He really _had_ ended up forcing himself into an emergency stasis.

Ratchet suddenly shot up from his position, barking out orders at everyone to get ready to leave for the secured facilities- _immediately._

Even as he was transforming, he called out the attention of agent Banacheck.

The man looked at the green rescue hummer, his phone still on his ear, as the vehicle stopped right by him. After a few moments the agent nodded stiffly, and quickly began making more calls as they moved the rescued female into the back of the CMO's vehicle mode.

The medics hopped in the back, the doors slammed shut, and before Optimus could take one step toward the medical officer, the rescue hummer was speeding away.

**::Ratch-::**

**::Not now, Prime! You can follow to the facilities later, and I will give you a full report. But right now- deal with Barricade and do your job! I will do mine!::**

"_His_ job?" Simmons raised an eyebrow. Pulling out his radio he tried to contact the runaway CMO. "Doc, no need to blow a gasket. Just let our medics handle it. I _assure_ you they're trained to deal with these emergency situations." There was no response, there was only static on the other end. Ratchet had deactivated his comm. "_What_ in -? _I can't believe he **cut me off**!_"

"Calm down, agent!" Despite Banacheck being something of his superior, Simmons continued his tirade. He ranted to himself, walking in some random direction to blow off some steam. He was frustrated _beyond_ belief.

"So what _did_ Ratchet say?" Mikaela asked the more composed agent anxiously. All eyes and optics were on the older man now.

Tom sighed and shook his head. "He told me to have someone ready links to specific medical references for hematology at the temporary base."

"Hema-_what_-ogy?" Sam stuttered.

"_Hema-tology. _He wanted info on the human study of blood."

"Blood?..." Optimus murmured.

Everyone went rigid. Banacheck continued solemnly.

"Yes. Info on that, and someone knowledgeable about treatment for blood poisoning."

* * *

><p>"This is remarka-"<p>

**_/Just your medical opinion doctor./_** The voice crackled through the connection.

Someone, another self-proclaimed medical practitioner had contacted Doctor Henderson, a clinical pathologist in his office, asking for his professional advice.

No name, no reasons, a straightforward stranger who sent him a blood sample to analyze. Saying that they were testing the effect of a certain chemical and its effect on blood samples taken from various donors.

"Right- well, it seems that these foreign... cells-" Henderson did not know how to term the unknown micro-organisms. They were strange. Alien-looking even. "-are attacking the normal blood cells. It's like they're trying to pick the red blood cells apart!" The doctor furrowed his brow as he continued to look at the aggressive nature of the "chemical". "Whatever chemical you're testing, doctor, I hope you're taking extra safety precautions. If a person were to really get this in their system, those things will degenerate the body from the inside-"

**_/Slag!-/_**

"What was that, doctor- ?"

The blood analyst did not receive a reply. The only thing he heard was someone yelling in the background, and loud clacking sounds that probably meant that someone dropped the phone. A few more bumps, a little more yelling, then someone finally picked up the communication device.

**_/Sorry about that Doctor Henderson./_** This voice was different from the first.**_ /I just have one more question to ask on behalf of Doctor... Chesley. Just for the sake of safety, if any of our interns were to ever get contaminated with the sample, how would you suggest we treat it?/_**

"Treat it?" Henderson's eyebrows raised, he thought he was dealing with fellow pathologists. "Well... I wouldn't know about _treating_. Whatever is in that chemical, from your sample, it almost looks like the components-" He couldn't help but snort, " have a mind of their own." It was _incredulous_. "If _that_ were in a human, I would say _immediate_ blood transfusion. But with those components acting out like that, they would probably have latched onto the organic tissues the _moment_ they entered the body. Even if the blood were to be changed, the foreign cells would likely still be there." Henderson's tone turned serious. "If you insist on continuing with this project of yours, I would advise against using inexperienced interns. Exposure to this could most likely be fatal."

**_/Thank you for your opinion Doctor Henderson,/_** the reply was clipped, **_/- you will receive compensation for your work within the week./_**

"Ah... yes. Of course." He said, unsure. The line went dead. "Thank you?" The pathologist stared at his cellphone for a moment, checking his call log. The number of the call didn't register. He blinked disbelievingly, before he put the device back in his pocket. He was quite sure that he would not hear from the faceless "employers" again, so it didn't matter.

* * *

><p>"Slag!" Ratchet did not believe it. He<em> didn't<em> want to believe it.

There was not much he could do for the girl they had rescued from the clutches of the decepticons. He was still new to the knowledge of human biology. And even though he was grateful for the numerous archives of medical information that had been opened to him for his study, he still needed to analyze the data.

"How could your human doctors not have found this strange! If they had explored further, they could have offered her an immediate blood transfusion!"

He had seen the remains of the bandages on the girl's hands, torso, and the splint on her ankle. He knew that the child had gone for medical treatment earlier in the day.

"Her symptoms might not have been present at that time. Even if they were, they were most likely not as severe- maybe not even very noticeable. They would never have had enough cause to make the call." One of the S-7 medics countered.

The autobot CMO knew that the human was right. The stressful situation that the child had been in would have caused an increase in heart rate, whereas she would have been calmer when she was being treated by fellow humans. The former would have caused the contamination to spread faster. He was sure that the cause of the girl's predicament was of cybertronian origin.

Somehow, she had contracted energon poisoning. He had deduced that the human femme had been contaminated through a cut on her hand. It was small, but it had been enough for the cybertronian equivalent of lifeblood to seep into her bloodstream. The medics had initially thought it an ordinary acid burn, however, the veins running from the cut had become clearly visible. They had turned into lines of a sickly looking bluish hue that resembled the same color of a horrible bruise during the span of her extraction from the police cruiser to their arrival at the temporary facility.

However, his skills with cybertronian anatomy would not be of much use. Though he had indeed worked with nanites present in energon several times in the past, his knowledge and experience would be for naught if he could not do an in depth study, as well as some experimentation. Even with his speed, it would take him several days to come up with a possible solid solution.

As he looked at the girl who lay on the white sheets of the make-shift human clinic in the temporary NBE facility, he could not help but shake his head. She was still unconscious, her forehead covered in a thin film of sweat. Her heart rate was erratic.

He was not sure if he even had several days.

* * *

><p>"So you guys can't do some kind of blood transfusion?" Captain Lennox questioned.<p>

"That's not an option now." Ratchet shook his head regretfully. "If we had gotten to the girl sooner, blood transfusion would have been the best chance to flush out the nanites. But the contamination has spread, and the nanites are well on their way with their "repairs". If we give them new, untouched cells, they will only continue their operations for longer-"

"Wait a second..." Simmons piped up, "If these nanite things are trying to _"fix" _the kid, why's she getting worse?" The agent had voiced out what the whole group had been thinking. Nearly everyone concerned for the human girl's welfare had gathered in the large bay area for the report, except for Ironhide, who was currently on guard duty.

"They were programmed for cybertronian frame structures. Which is why they are trying to pick apart the normal human cells, to eliminate anything they believe is a hindrance for proper function. I'm afraid that because humans are organic, the nanites consider nearly everything inadequate." The CMO said grimly. "After a certain amount of time, the nanites _should_ see that they are actually damaging their host, and that will cause them to go dormant. However, I do not know how long that will take. Our only hope is that the human child's body can survive the strain until that happens, or that we find some way to reprogram or deactivate the nanites manually."

Sam shivered, not liking the thought of tiny alien bugs running a rampage in his bloodstream. "How long would it take for the _nasty_ little things to stop on their own?" He asked. Mikaela looked up hopefully at the neon green bot as well.

"Three days, perhaps more." Ratchet estimated.

All those present cringed at the bleak news.

"I have been working on a prototype counter program and testing them on a few blood samples from the sparkling. However, any conclusive results that could tell me if they could be safe for any attempt at human treatment would take a day at the very least."

"So what happens now, Ratchet?" Optimus asked lowly. He felt a sense of responsibility for the young human who was now suffering because of their war.

"The human medics will do whatever they can to strengthen the child's body against the strain, to keep her alive. I will assist them to the best of my ability, but as of the moment Ironhide, Bumblebee, and yourself are my priority."

Before the autobot leader could cut him off, the CMO added, "No Optimus," putting one hand up to silence him. "All we can do for the child is wait, and I will not waste my time idling about. You have your own injuries."

The Prime still seemed adamant about putting the child first, however, he saw the logic in Ratchet's reasoning. Nodding reluctantly, he followed the docbot as he lead him to the makeshift autobot medbay.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Didn't have much time to go over this too much. But I hope it isn't too bad... Review?  
>What do you guys think is going to happen next? :)<strong>

**Thanks to all you guys who followed my story! It's great to know that there are people there who enjoy my story. :)**

**Special thanks to all those who reviewed my previous chapter! You guys really brighten up my day :D**

**Kit Williams**

**xXTwilight-WarriorXx**

**Atoxiclullaby1**

**Spirit01**

**JasmineChyanne**


	11. Chapter 11: Shock

**A/N: Hi guys! :D I know it's been a while, and it's past Christmas... so I felt the need to find time to upload this. It's pretty rough... and yeah... enough with my rambling, you'll most likely skip this anyway.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11: Shock<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Word count (excluding ANs): 3,202 words**

* * *

><p><em>I'm tired. That's all I know.<em>

_I feel weak... Exhausted. Though oddly enough I feel okay at the same time._

_The wind is blowing against my face, and everything around me zooms past in a big blur of colors and shapes._

_The speed terrifies me, but it's just so exhilarating._

_I want to slow down, but I feel like I'm not supposed to. Like someone watching is going to look down at me for even thinking of decreasing my speed. Like I'm supposed to set the example..._

_But I'm just so worn out._

_I want to sleep._

_Sleep..._

* * *

><p>"I am still uncomfortable with the idea."<p>

"The equipment cannot be moved from the medbay, Optimus. We will have to take him out from the brig to the upper levels. It isn't just the temporary patch that needs to be removed. I need to make sure that the system locks I installed are functioning properly."

The Prime nodded stiffly, still quite ill at ease with the idea, but confident in the capabilities of his team and his medical officer.

"Hey, I get that making sure that the 'Con won't cause problems is important... But I still don't like the thought him being anywhere _near_ our section of the medbay either." William Lennox also voiced out.

The previously mentioned section was just one level above the autobot medical facilities. A flight of human-sized stairs connected both areas, and though that would never had been any use for a cybertronian, its simple presence somehow made Lennox and some of the other humans uneasy.

"Barricade is smart enough to know that he is outmatched and outnumbered." Ratchet supplied wearily. He had already repeated himself several times over. He had assured everyone that he had deactivated Barricade's weapons system and taken out those that he could, more than once.

If the decepticon made any attempt at escaping, he would have to brawl his way out first.

"The bot's gonna be there for a few hours... _max. _I'm_ preeet-ty_ sure he won't be able to do anything." Simmons said confidently. "The damsel's gonna be fine!"

Few ever really took the agent seriously, but there was no arguing anymore.

Ratchet had to do his job while the others prepared for Jazz's deep sea interment which was set for the day after the next. The whole team of autobots would be attending the ceremony, and it would not do to leave the decepticon unchecked.

Besides, the docbot looked just about ready to start throwing wrenches at anyone who wanted to keep delaying his work.

Anybody who disagreed simply stayed silent this time.

With a resolute nod, the medical officer turned to leave for the base's brig.

"I still don't understand why we can't just send the punk to the matrix already." Ironhide grunted before following the grumpy doctor down the hallway.

Everyone _did_ indeed wonder that. It had already been quite some time, and Barricade had _never_ given up any relevant information no matter how many times he had been interrogated and sometimes threatened with experimentation by Simmons (though Optimus would never have allowed it).

Over two weeks had passed since they had relocated to Sector 7's Nevada bunker which was more suitable for Autobot operations than their first location (they would have returned to the Hoover Dam base, which would have been even more ideal, but it had been compromised). Nearly a month total had flown by since the mess in Mission City.

Things had just begun to settle down. Repairs were either ongoing or already completed in other places that were affected by the battle, and the whole incident involving the Cybertronians was beginning to become foggy. Details were sketchy and the truth of what happened was becoming muddled with rumors and speculation.

Sam and Mikaela had been sent home after a thorough debriefing and receiving compensation for their losses as well as their service to their country and the world. After being fully repaired, Bumblebee had requested to be once again deployed as the young Witwicky's guardian. His request had been denied in favor of his duties as a scout and soldier.

All the Autobots had been fully repaired as well. It had been to the disdain of many that Ratchet had also rendered his services to the single occupant of the bunker's brig, returning once or twice a week to tend to his damages. The old bot had joined Optimus's team as a medic after all, living by the firm principle that he existed to save lives, no matter their faction (or race).

Speaking of lives- the life that weighed so heavily on his leader and friend was still being kept in the human section of the medbay. Throughout all that time, the young girl they had saved had never woken up.

She was still comatose.

Barricade denied doing anything to her, claiming to merely be the one who had been unfortunate to anger Starscream enough to be assigned to keep the human girl. No one knew that that piece of information was indeed actually true. Many still suspected the worst.

The girl's condition had stabilized (somewhat), after the nanites had gone dormant after several days of infection. However, despite the girl's body healing completely, a strange anomaly had kept her unconscious. Even with Ratchet's extensive knowledge and the guidance he offered with the child's testing and diagnosis, both he and the medical staff could not come up with a definite reason for her continued "stasis lock" (as the autobot CMO had described it, comparing the girl's state with the cybertronian equivalent of a form of "sleep mode").

Despite several IV drips pumping various vitamins, supplements, nutrients, and sometimes steroids into her bloodstream, the young femme's stats maintained the bare minimum- and stayed skimming that line.

Ratchet sighed wearily as he and Ironhide arrived at the lower floors where the brig was located. Upon reaching Barricade's cell, the black mech punched in the code to deactivate the energy shield that they had installed. Two lines of human soldiers formed behind the two autobots. Armed with the specialized prototype weaponry they had been developing- designed to (supposedly) be able to sufficiently damage, even pierce cybertronian armor, they stood alert and ready.

Barricade was sitting on the single recharge berth present in the cell. He barely gave the 'bots a second glance when he heard them access the brig.

"I've told you a million times before, auto_scum. _I have nothing t-"

"We're here to take you up to the medbay, you ungrateful half-byte-"

"Don't start it, Ironhide. Unless you want your cannons welded togther." Ratchet said lowly. That effectively muted the weapons' specialist, though the black mech was still bristling. The neon green bot turned his attention back to his patient. "We have to remove that temporary patch before the weaker metal compromises your armor."

There was an unreadable expression on Barricade's faceplates as he stared at the autobot CMO. One servo instinctively ran over the wide steel strip that had been welded over the wound on the side of his chassis.

"You had better get your aft moving, before I change my mind." Ratchet grouched, crossing his arms impatiently. He was thoroughly annoyed with all the delays, though he knew that he could not rush the decepticon without risking a scuffle breaking out.

Barricade, seeing no other option, nodded his helm stiffly, standing from his seated position on the single recharge berth present within his cell. He rolled his stiff shoulders and joints before striding out the door with his optics straight forward. It had been several days since he had been let out after all, and the first time that he would be allowed anywhere else but his cell and the interrogation area (he had been in stasis during his first visits to the medbay).

The return to the upper levels was tense and silent. The decepticon not saying anything. They passed through several checkpoints following the spiraling ramp that served as the cybertronians' method of going from one level to another, the elevator obviously not an option. Having reached the second underground level, the tension seemed to multiply tenfold. There was a strange static in the air as Barricade paused for a nanoklik, optics dimming slightly.

"Get a move-on decepticon." Ironhide barked, prodding the black and white mech forward. The decepticon hunter shook off the weapons' specialist, growling.

"Servos off, _autobot_." Barricade spat venomously.

Before a brawl could break out between the two volatile mechs, Ratchet interrupted them. "If you don't want both your hip joints welded together, I suggest we keep things non-aggressive." A large metal door hissed open as the neon green autobot gestured for the decepticon to enter the cybertronian medbay. "If you please."

The 'Con responded accordingly, warily entering the large room. The bay was spacious, enough to accommodate two large cybertronian patients, and allow enough room for the medical officer to work. The equipment, though somewhat scant, was enough to tend to most injuries and maintenance procedures. Two recharge berths, and a table with an assortment of tools stood to the right side. The left side held several large screens brimming with long lines of data and several images that Barricade could not interpret. His gaze then fell on one of the monitors seemed to be showing multiple windows of Ratchet's research on his other patient's bloodwork.

"What have you to gain, Barricade?"

The decepticon turned to stare at Ratchet, who was the only one who had entered the medbay. The 'Con assumed that the trigger-happy black mech had stayed guard outside the door upon the medic's request.

"I have no idea what you're blabbering about, _medic_." He replied icily.

"What do you have to gain by keeping what you know of _this_?" The doctor repeated gestured to the screens. "This human child has nothing to do with you, or our war. Why let her suffer?"

Barricade scoffed, the CMO had used this line of questioning several times before. As if the doctor could cause him guilt... or as the humans would have put it, appeal to his "_humanity_". He was not in possession of any such thing.

"What you could tell us of the time she spent among the decepticons could help us greatly with her treatment."

"The _fleshie_ femme could offline for all I care." He said callously.

Ratchet continued to stare at the decepticon intensely, as though he was analyzing him. A few moments of silence passed before the doctor sighed.

"Let us finish with this, then." He said, gesturing to the berth.

* * *

><p><em>Hmmm...?<em>

_Did I fall asleep?  
><em>

_I think I might have, for a bit._

_Everything was starting to feel warm now. It was cold just two seconds ago. The wind rushing past my face and arms was gone now. Even the colors were gone. It was just dark. Not a creepy darkness though. Imagine the comforting darkness of hiding under your covers in bed, like when you were younger and liked having sleepovers, when you were sharing secrets with a best friend._

_It felt nice though, the warmth._

_Like a hug that I needed... So badly..._

_Mmmmm..._

_Mmmmrrrgh..._

_Something isn't right._

_Ouch._

_Agh!_

_Suddenly everything was on fire. It felt like someone just poured a gallon of diesel on me and threw in a match._

_It flared painfully like nothing I'd ever felt, one moment of intense pain-_

_Then it was gone._

_And I couldn't feel anything anymore._

* * *

><p>"Slaggit!" Ratchet's servo jerked violently as a high pitched beeping alarm went off in his helm, several urgent notifications clouding his visuals.<p>

The sudden jolt caused Barricade to shoot up from his position on the recharge berth with a snarl.

It was chaos then.

Ironhide burst into the medbay, cannons blazing. The black bot would have blasted a nasty plasma round at the unfortunate mech who was now down on his side with an arm curled around his chassis if Ratchet hadn't brushed roughly past him, cursing to the pit, and speeding away toward the access ramp like the decepticon didn't matter at all.

The weapons' specialist would have continued to stand confused by the doorway for hours more if his audio receptors didn't pick up the panicked yelling that came from the staircase connecting the two different sections of the medbay.

A human medic slammed the door open looking around frantically, jumping back when he noticed the decepticon who was growling muttering profanities on the floor, several yards from where he stood. The black and white mech seemed to have noticed his presence and turned his burning red optics to the male, giving him a critical glare, a dark growl resounding through his vocal processors.

"Ah- W-Where... Ch-Chief Med...Ratch... f-"

Exasperated by the sputtering human, Ironhide cut him off. "_Spit it out_, human!"

"We need Ratchet upstairs-"

"He's already on his way there." Ironhide replied, with what he hoped was an assuring tone. He was attempting to get the human to breathe, however the male did not stop his speedy chattering. The human seemed to be in an adrenaline rush.

* * *

><p>Ratchet transformed into his alt-mode, tires screeching on the floors of the base. Human and cybertronian alike dodged and jumped out of the way of the search and rescue hummer as it drifted to face the large glass observation window that they had installed to provide a clear view for the autobot medical officer into the human section of the medbay.<p>

He could not help but pace as one of the medics gave him a report of what had happened. It was not required though. Ratchet had established a link to the monitoring equipment that was being used long ago to make sure that he was always well informed.

The medics were prepping another piece of equipment in a rush. Ratchet himself not being able to help directly, could only watch. The other humans present in the base began peeking through the window as well. Optimus arrived moments later, having been the only mech that Ratchet had bothered to inform of the situation. Bumblebee, being a scout, had easily caught wind of the events, and was trailing behind his leader.

When the medical staff within noticed the crowd forming, they quickly pulled the curtains around the bed, blocking the humans' view, but not the cybertronians'.

* * *

><p>"It's the girl. She just flatlined." The medical staff member sputtered.<p>

* * *

><p>"Clear!"<p>

Ratchet's sensors picked up the large surge of electricity that went through the child's body, her back arching violently before falling back to the bed. If he had not done so much extensive research on human medicine and had not come across the use of defibrillators, he would have thought that the medics were harming the girl.

The humans' methods would have seemed cruel and unethical to anyone else.

Bumblebee could not watch. He subtly turned his helm away, his optics dimming.

* * *

><p>Both mechs stared at the human, like they didn't understand.<p>

A quick search of the world wide web quickly changed their stances though.

Ironhide quickly grabbed Barricade's shoulder, roughly pulling him from the floor with every intention of escorting the mech back to the brig.

* * *

><p>"No response."<p>

The continuous beep had still not picked up a rhythm.

"Once more!"

Optimus Prime's servos clenched tightly in anticipation, his frame rigid with anxiety. The CMO worried for him.

"Clear!"

* * *

><p>The decepticon quickly retaliated aggressively and shoved the veteran away. Or tried to.<p>

The temporary stasis that Ratchet had activated seemed to still be partially active. Barricade appeared somewhat docile compared to his usual violence. The shock on his old wound seemed to have made his joints lock involuntarily.

The attempt at aggression angered Ironhide, making him push the 'Con against the wall.

"Do you see what you've _done_, you _fragging_ _decepticon_?!" He roared dangerously. His tone suggesting that the black mech blamed the decepticon for putting an innocent child in a hospital bed, fighting for her life.

" Do you have a _glitch_, you old rustbucket? Can't you autoscum get it through your thick helms that I was just assigned to watch her?! I told you slaggers a hundred times over! I've done _nothing_ to the girl!" Barricade yelled, his volume increasing with every statement. He was tired of being constantly blamed for his human charge's current condition. He'd had enough. He may not have had his weapons at his disposal, but he still had his claws.

And when a scream bled into the room from the open door to the connecting stairwell, Barricade took the opportunity to grab at the distracted black mech's armplates, confident that the autobot would not fire his cannons at such a close range. Finding a seam in the weapons specialist's armor, he sunk his digits deep enough to graze sensitive wires.

Ironhide cringed, his grip loosening for a moment, giving Barricade the chance to twist out of his entrapment. Out of anger, perhaps frustration or exasperation, or maybe because he felt like it, the decepticon hunter administered a hard punch to the side of the older mech's helm. The humans shouting out of shock. Others yelled warnings or profanities at him, readying their weapons. Meanwhile, the Autobot was left to stare incredulously at the 'Con for his brashness.

"Get your glitching processors defragged." The decepticon growled lowly, giving the autobot a glare and crossing his arms defiantly, not giving a frag that he had weapons aimed at him from all angles.

Furious, Ironhide directed the barrel of his impressive cannon at Barricade's helm.

The rims began spinning as the large weapon charged to fire. "Slagging Con-"

"Enough." A deep voice echoed throughout the room. All eyes and optics, turned to see Optimus Prime striding down the hallway towards them.

"Prime? Why aren't you at the human medbay?" The weapons specialist questioned, curious as to why his leader was not currently at the upper levels. The human femme's condition had been weighing down on his processor after all.

"Control yourself, Ironhide." The autobot leader said firmly, initially ignoring his subordinate's inquiry.

The mech gave one last glare at Barricade, but obliged by stepping back and powering down his cannon.

"Optimus, you should be at-"

"I was." The red and blue mech answered simply, knowing what his old friend was going to ask. "They have her heart pumping again. She is stable."

"What ha-"

"And awake. "

Everyone went silent for a few moments, the news sinking in.

"The kid's up?"

"Thank God."

"She's going to make it."

Several soldiers among Barricade's escort group smiled among themselves, relief and a certain happiness for the girl for finally returning to the waking world evident. Some of them had been at the crash site after all. They had seen her extracted from the partially wrecked police cruiser that day almost a month ago. A few had even been those to have personally pulled her out of the destruction themselves.

Their excited chatter had immediately died down when they saw the tenseness in the autobot leader's frame. Optimus put his gaze on Barricade, standing stoic in the background, his pedes shifting. They had almost forgotten about his presence.

Almost.

But the Prime's next statement had them all staring at the decepticon in utterly disbelief.

"She is looking for you."

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><p><strong>AN: Thoughts? Sorry for taking so long to post.**

**By the way, belated Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope you've all been enjoying spending time with your families and loved ones :D**


	12. Chapter 12: Meet the Bots

**A/N: I never meant to leave this for so long, but life pretty much got busy. I hope I can still catch your interest with this story. Here we go~**

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 12: MEETING THE BOTS<strong>

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><p><strong>Word Count: 3,728 words<strong>

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><p><em>Fudging fudge tarts...<em>

_Cheese fudging crackers..._

The doctors were poking at my sore ribs, causing me unnecessary pain. It was almost like dealing with Scalpel and my sprained ankle all over again. Couldn't they just do an x-ray or something?

I sighed, supposing it was necessary. No matter how much the constant prodding _highly_ annoyed me, I clenched my fists tightly to keep myself from punching one of the stupid medics in the face. I had no idea why, but my temper seemed to flare unreasonably ever since I woke up.

"Hey..." My voice was raspy from disuse. How long was I out? My throat was sore and dry, but I _needed _to know...

"The mech I was with. What happened to him?" I managed to breathe out. The effort made me cough painfully. The men and women in scrubs only continued milling about, ignoring my question.

I was worried for Barricade. Did he get away? Hopefully he had gotten the help he needed if he did. A pang of hurt shot through me.

Did he leave without me?

Hurt turned into anger... and my anger was growing by the minute.

No... He wouldn't have...

Right?

Not with his orders, at the very least.

Something told me that he was okay, but I couldn't help but worry until I saw him myself. The roar that had echoed through a doorway at the corner of the medbay when I had woken up in a panic had me concerned as well.

Was he here then?

Did they do something to him?

Were they... _experimenting _on him?

_Glitching fraggers._

I was _definitely_ mad now. The thought made me seethe.

I grabbed for the person closest to me, a man in a set of blue scrubs. He looked at me, startled by the glare I was giving him.

"Wh- Where is-" I would have growled out my question if I hadn't had another coughing fit.

"I would highly suggest that you ingest some fluids before attempting to speak." A voice from behind me advised. Probably one of the other doctors.

I didn't turn around, opting to ignore the guy's instructions. They were ignoring _my_ questions, so I was just returning the favor. Meanwhile, the first man nodded in acknowledgment of the doctor and gently pried my hand off of his sleeve to pour me a glass of water. I turned around, ready to snap at the new guy, but the words never came. Seeing him watching me with his arms folded and a slight scowl on his face made me pause.

This was the first time I'd seen him. Strangely enough, he seemed familiar somehow. He looked to be in his late thirties, though something about him made him seem much older than his actual age. Old, almost tired, in a way... but he stood with an air of surety. I guess 'seasoned' would be the more proper word to describe him.

The lines on his face were from the stress of his work and experience as much as they were from age. Most of his hair was a silvery gray, the rest turning white. It was brushed back just enough to keep the strands from getting into his eyes.

_Those eyes_... The startling greyish blue color of his irises seemed to glow from behind the frames of the rectangular glasses perched on his nose.

Yup. _Different_ alright.

_Ratchet!_ I realized.

Or his holoform, at least.

The autobot insignia on his lab coat sleeve was also a dead giveaway. His aura wasn't something any human could easily duplicate either.

The other guy in scrubs placed a cool glass in my hands before moving away, resuming his previous activities.

Ratchet only inclined his head, gesturing to my hands, as he continued to stand two feet from my bed.

Without taking my eyes off of him, I sipped at the liquid slowly at first. The water was cool, with a slight minty taste to it. I began to drink greedily, the ache in my throat lessening with each gulp. It also helped to calm me down somewhat.

"Slow down, youngling." Ratchet almost chuckled in relief, probably glad to see I had enough strength to drink like a dehydrated whale. His tone was gruff though, I noticed, even if he was trying to sound gentle.

I only hummed in agreement, smiling slightly. Ratchet could be a softy even when he was a bit of a grouch.

"You were lucky Miss Fox-" He was interrupted by another fit of my coughs. _Really_... what use was an alias that had me choking at the hilarity of it every time someone used it to refer to me?

The holoform watched intently as the same guy who'd given me the glass, rushed forward and clapped me on the back, careful not to jostle me too much.

"You were quite lucky." He repeated, like nothing happened. I didn't miss the way one of his snowy white brows was raised, though.

"You suffered two cracked ribs, one broken, a fracture on your ankle, which you aggravated with your activities, and energon poisoning." The medical officer listed off.

I gaped openly at him, my face going pale. The rest of the staff quietly left the room to let us talk.

The door shut behind them just as I stuttered out, "Ener-energon p-poisoning?"

Was that what Scalpel had injected into my arm? Maybe he hadn't given me enough antidote on purpose. Probably for insurance that I'd go running back to him when I started feeling fudged up, or rather, not be able to run away.

"Yes. Your body suffered quite a large amount of stress and strain for it." Seeing the worried look on my face, he continued, "That problem has been dealt with, and so far, you have nothing to worry about in that aspect. Though I would like you to maintain regular checkups. To be safe."

I nodded numbly, rolling my now empty glass over in my hands. I guess that could explain why I felt so sick back at the highway.

"Though your body has somewhat recovered over the past month-"

Past _month_?!

The glass slipped from my grasp and I reached out for it frantically, Ratchet doing the same out of reflex.

I caught the thing just as my hand passed through his arm. He froze, anxious for my reaction.

A holo-_**gram**_?

I watched in fascination as the not-Ratchet's appendage flickered, before taking several silent, awkward moments to properly reset. I don't think that would ever look any less cool every time I saw something like it.

I thought that the 'Bots would have taken the precaution of using solid holoforms around civilians though...

"From your lack of surprise, I assume that this is not the first time you have seen a hologram."

A moment later, another projection flickered into existence beside Ratchet's. I didn't even need to see red and blue or flames to know who it was.

"Optimus!" The CMO's projection sounded frustrated. "You could have shocked the girl and caused even more trauma than she already has!" Ratchet scolded exasperatedly.

"I do apologize, old friend." He said sincerely, before looking at me intently, making me straighten my posture and run my hand through my tangled hair self-consciously. I'd hoped to meet the famous Autobot leader in a better state than sporting a hospital gown with a month's worth of bed head. What was it with me and meeting all these amazing characters looking like I'd gone through a trash compactor?

He looked regal, even in the plain dress shirt and dark slacks he had on. His eyes were a similar shade to Ratchet's, only richer. I stared at him openly in disbelief. Most of me was beating down my fan girl side's urge to jump at the Prime, squealing in delight.

"How are you feeling?" The deep baritone was soothing- one thing I loved about the Prime. It helped to calm the irrational anger that was still simmering at the back of my mind.

"Like I've run a marathon carrying Megatron on my back." I said dryly. "My whole body is sore."

"I am afraid... I do not understand." The autobot leader managed to say. He shook his head, as if trying to comprehend my odd choice of words. "It would be quite impossible for you to support that much weight." Optimus looked confused, "You would instantly be crushed."

"I- I'm sorry..." I stuttered out, laughing. "It's a metaphor." I explained.

Optimus cocked his head slightly. I simply shook my head, my smile only growing wider.

"Don't take everything we humans say so _literally_, Optimus. You just might bust a processor chip."

He smiled, much of the weight he had been carrying over the weeks dissipating. "We are glad to see you well, Miss Fox."

Damn my stupid, _stupid_ choice of an alias. Like I said, it was _highly_ impractical. Plus, I don't think I could have continued using it among the bots who had saved my life without constantly fidgeting internally with guilt. The smile I had slipped right off of my face.

"That's... Not my name." I muttered hesitantly, not sure if telling them was really the right thing to do.

Both bots' brows furrowed, one in interest, the other in concern.

"Might you be suffering from amnesia? Is there anything else you have trouble recalling?" The good doctor must have taken my hesitance as me trying to remember something I couldn't.

"No." I shook my head. "Not amnesia. I guess I thought I had to use an alias."

"An alias?" Optimus mused out loud. I nodded, trying to come up with a valid reason. I couldn't exactly lie. Ratchet was probably a walking lie detector! He would most likely get a read on a spike in my heart rate as soon as I fibbed!

But then, in all honesty, I'd given out an alias as a way to have some fun. Not really an ideal explanation.

"I had to take precautions. I wasn't sure if it was safe to use my real name, and I thought I had to avoid suspicion." That had been one of the reasons too, though it only lingered at the back of my mind when I'd sputtered out the fake name the first time. I cringed at the possibility that I might actually be in a dimension between mine and this one. That my family, friends and everybody that I loved might actually exist in this world too.

_Oh, God_...

Barricade...

He knew.

Barricade had found my ID card, seen my _real_ name. Did he tell anybody? Where was he anyway?

"And why did you find the need to avoid suspicion?"

Not hearing the latest query, my thoughts suddenly reminded me of my own previously unanswered question. I suddenly felt angry again.

"Look. It's hard to explain..." I waved my hand flippantly. " 'Sides none of you guys answered _my_ question yet. And _I _asked first." I tried to look intimidating as I glared at both holograms when I repeated my question once more. "Where's Barricade? Is he here?" The last few words almost came out in a growl. Both my fists were clenched, despite the pain I felt in my right hand. My anger was boiling illogically by now.

"Interesting." Ratchet's holoform hummed.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Are you going to give me an answer any time soon?" I sneered.

_The hell is wrong with you girl? _Something inside of me panicked, realizing my more than uncharacteristically _impolite_ attitude._ Be nice!_

I grit my teeth.

_Be nice._

"Yes, Barricade _is_ here." He said finally, trying to gauge my reaction to finding out that the cybertronian that they had believed kidnapped me was in the same building.

_Finally!_

I nodded curtly, feeling relieved, my anger ebbing, but not really going away.

The two 'Bots both looked worried for me, probably due to my mood swings. Optimus hesitated slightly before placing a hand on top of my head, probably as a comforting gesture, though I couldn't really feel anything but a little static. Wha-

"There is no need to fear any longer, young one. Barricade cannot hurt-"

"He _hasn't _hurt me, you fudge tarts!" I felt absolutely annoyed, rolling my eyes. Was everyone really so easily assuming regarding the decepticons? Though I couldn't really blame them...

"He was my caretaker, nothing more." I folded my arms, my tone formal, and my actions probably making me seem older and more mature. "For Primus' sake! Cheesy Dorito Screamer had him babysit me. In fact, that slagging glitch and the byte sized Scalpel were the only ones who hurt me! Get your processors _defragged_ and get your facts _straight_!" Well... until I said _that_.

They both stared at me in disbelief and a good portion of morbid fascination.

What?!

Wait... _What?_

_Awww cheese_... What the _hell_ did I just _say_?! I insulted the Prime _and_ his CMO!

My hands immediately flew to my mouth.

Stupid. Stupid. _Stupid_!

"Dorito?" Optimus managed to mumble out after a few moments silence, eyes glazing over for a moment. I'd come to the conclusion that any time that happened, the cybertronians were running internal comms, making a scan, or searching for information, most likely from the web. I assume it was the last one.

He looked at me and Ratchet alternately, silently trying to ask for some form of explanation. "I do not understand what a brand of corn chips has to do with the decepticons."

"Hmmm..." Ratchet pondered the meaning as well. "I have checked her multiple times for any neurological damage from the accident, but have not detected any. However, I am not quite sure if her outburst is a result of some post-traumatic or mental stress, or if it could be considered another quirk of human speech."

Did he just call me _cra-_

"It _is_ a _slagging_ quirk, you fragging glitch! I am _not_ crazy!" I very nearly screeched in embarrassment and anger. My hands flew to my mouth the moment my brain caught up with my words.

"I'm sorry! Just forget what I said." I yelled again, waving my arms around like a panicked parrot. My tirade ended with me breathing heavily to try and calm myself down. I knew I could be somewhat bipolar at times, but this was getting a little out of hand.

"Hey, I know the two of you are probably havin' the _time_ of your lives trying to figure out this little piece of sunshine over here, but I'd really like to get this interrogation started." I knew that voice.

Simmons?

_Fudgeballs... _I found the guy hilarious, but I really didn't need to deal with his crazy right now.

The cocky agent strode into the room, stopping opposite the bots' holograms, before landing a critical look on me.

"We've got a lot of questions that need answering, princess."

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><p>Two hours.<p>

Two _fudging _hours.

The questions had gone on for an exhausting amount of time. I'd answered as much as I could honestly, without revealing too much of what I knew. I'd learned a hard lesson when Starscream had come to the conclusion that I knew certain things. Though what he thought I knew was a shallow assumption of all the information I had actually contained in my head.

Like the typical government-acquires-a-civilian-witness situation, my backpack had been confiscated, along with all of my things. I was grateful that Daniel had disposed of my Optimus Prime shirt back at the clinic, saying that it was a risk keeping it, and the fact that it had gotten ripped up through my jacket. I'd insisted that I keep the jacket though, despite its mauled state. The shirt would have been hell to explain.

My phone had been analyzed. All the info within picked apart by the S7 agents and technicians. Thank God that I hadn't referred to any bots specifically in any texts, and I didn't have any pictures of the cybertronians on my phone. In fact, the only thing strictly Transformers related that was there was my screensaver. A simple metallic "TF" on a dark, outer-spacey background. That and the soundtracks from the first two movies, which I was praying had nothing incriminating. I couldn't recall the titles.

But really, the significant things they would have checked would have been the messages and the pictures.

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><p>"So what do we know now?" Secretary Keller questioned all those present in the impromptu conference area, his face visible on a large screen mounted on one of the walls of the hangar.<p>

"Not much more, sir." William Lennox admitted simply.

"_Not much more?_" Simmons stared at the major, "We have even more questions than when we didn't know anything about the kid!"

Taking out a file, he flipped through the pages, pacing back and forth across the floor.

"We've searched everywhere for any of her records or documents, and there's nothing! Nada! Zip! Not even a social media account, blog, or an e-mail address! An _**e-mail address!**_ That is just plain _weird_ for a teenager." Simmons snapped the flimsy folder he was holding shut, and tossed it onto the table in frustration. "The info she gave to that clinic was bogus, and we even checked out the school ID card she had on her. It was absolutely legit in every possible way- except, her name doesn't turn up in the register of that university she says she's enrolled at. "

"No record of any flights that could have brought her here over the month before we found her, either. Nothing on video- security cams, CCTVs... No explanation of how she could have gotten to the States... This kid's a ghost." Epps supplied as well.

"Until the night before Mission City, though." Lennox continued. Everyone looked to the screen, several windows popping up with various videos- at a diner, the entrance to a storage facility, and sever security cameras located in the town next to Mission City. All of them paused at certain moments, and there, indeed, was the girl. Her face was strangely cheery in some for what her supposed situation dictated. Only a few clips showed her to be in a panicked state. "The earliest one is from a set of CCTVs around the industrial area at the outskirts of Sam's town. Nothing else before that."

"Among the decepticons, nonetheless." Ratchet mused. "Bumblebee, did you see any sign of her when you fought with Barricade?" The doctor questioned the yellow bot.

The scout only shrugged his shoulders and let out a whirring whistle, shaking his helm.

"That could explain how she curses like one." Ironhide chuckled, quite amused. He had watched the recording of what had happened in the med-bay, and of the interrogation.

"If that is true, then the videos confirm her statements." Keller looked to Ratchet and Optimus, having also seen the video of the two hour session.

"What? You mean the whole _trans-dimensional_ travel bit?" Simmons looked around the room with wide eyes. "Aliens, I understand. There's been proof of them going back thousands of years! 'Sides, the universe is _way_ too big for just one race of intelligent beings. But being from an _alternate dimension_? That's just crazy talk." The agent folded his arms, scoffing at the thought.

Most of the people present rolled their eyes at him. He was one to talk. Keller, rubbed a hand tiredly over his face. Before all this, he would have thought it was crazy too. But then, just a month earlier, aliens came to earth to wage their war. And those aliens happened to be _sentient _machines. He sighed when he realized that it wouldn't really surprise him if the girl really _was _telling the truth. Who was to say what was possible and what wasn't anymore?

"The kid said she'd been struck by blue lightning before she woke up close to where Bumblebee left the 'Con. That's where one of the CCTVs first get footage of her." Lennox had been one of those who had watched Simmons interrogate, or at least try to interrogate the girl. The agent's pompous attitude hadn't been very productive, and after over an hour of barely learning anything, the major decided to step in.

"It might be possible." Ratchet hummed, deep in thought. "It is commonly known among cybertronians that the cube could project energy across time and space..." He trailed off, optics flicking towards his autobot companions.

"The signature that we picked up before we made planetfall." The Prime breathed out.

"In theory, this could mean that it would not be impossible for it to cut through realities." Ratchet's expression lit up at the thought. There were endless possibilities. "It would explain everything. The signature we detected, why the sparkling radiates traces of allspark energy, and how she arrived here."

"As well as why the Decepticons kept her alive." Optimus said softly.

"Wouldn't it be possible to send her back home then? I am sure that she has somebody worrying about her." The secretary of defense cringed at the thought. Having a family of his own, he didn't know what he would do if one of his loved ones suddenly disappeared without a trace.

"I am afraid it is no longer possible without the allspark. Using a shard would be too unpredictable. And without running experiments on the girl, we cannot know if we can channel the energy contained in her body to form some sort of space bridge. We do not know any sort of coordinates for her dimension, and we do not even know if it would be enough to send her home." Ratchet finished sombrely. "There are too many unknowns. I am afraid she will be stranded until we can find an alternative."

After several moments of silence, Keller spoke once more. "Wouldn't it be best to assign her to a foster family then? I can't have an innocent child present where there's so much danger."

"I am afraid that danger may follow her wherever she goes now, Secretary." The autobot leader vented a stream of air, shoulders drooping slightly. "The Decepticons found her valuable enough to keep her alive. They may try to locate her again."

"Still, she can't stay locked up here forever. A kid like her would get stir-crazy." Lennox put in.

"It would help us all rest easier if she weren't so close to danger."

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><p><strong>AN: Thoughts and comments? Prompts? Please review.**


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